Just Another Tuesday
by MyNoseAgreesWithMe
Summary: When it comes to odd experiences, Ash Ketchum has seen them all. So when one of Clemont's inventions malfunctions and throws him and some of his companions into another world, he decides to take it in stride and make the most of his time there - causing changes along the way. Rated T because of SAO's premise. Contains SatoSere and Kirisuna, but not main focus. Sequel has begun.
1. Prologue

**.**

 **Prologue: How it Began**

(Setting Up the Crossover)

* * *

Note: Welcome to my plot bunny! This story diverges from the XY anime at the beginning of the "clone Clembot caper" episode. Ages are also assumed to be 15/16ish and 9ish, since this occurs during Ash's 6th region of travel since his tenth birthday. As fits the tone of XY, there will be one-sided Amourshipping hints and Oblivious!Ash (mostly because I have *no* idea how to write "proper" romance), though this may change as I continue writing.

 **"Our heroes are back in Lumiose City, site of Ash's fifth Gym Battle in the Kalos league. Sliggoo's recent evolution into Goodra has left Ash extremely psyched for his battle against Clemont, and Bonnie is excited to reunite with her brother…"**

"Are we there yet?" Bonnie groaned, staring out the window of the city bus. "This is so _boring_ – why didn't we walk?"

"Don't you remember what Officer Jenny told us?" Serena reminded her. "There's a robber running around the city, so they want to keep foot traffic to a minimum to make it easier to catch him." This did nothing to lift the young girl's spirits, though, and she crossed her arms with a pout as Serena checked her guide for further information.

"Aw, come on, we could totally beat him! We beat those meanie Malamar, didn't we?" She looked at Ash pleadingly. "You agree with me, don't you?"

Ash started, zoning back in from his strategy planning. "Huh? Agree with you about what?" he asked, simultaneously trying to recover the idea that had almost formed. All that he could remember is that it was centered around -

"Serena doesn't think we can handle ourselves if we run into the robber that Officer Jenny told us about!" Bonnie complained. "Besides, this way we have to take the long way around!"

He grinned, reaching around Serena to ruffle Bonnie's hair in the same way his mom used to back when he got bored on bus rides. "Did she really say that? I bet she could actually handle him herself – but it's nice to take a break and let the police handle that kind of thing sometimes. Besides, with my talent for running into delays, walking would probably take longer than this bus ride, and you would have to wait longer to see Clemont again."

"He has a point, you know." Serena commented, sitting back up again. "Sometimes, you just need to trust that the grownups know what they're… What? What are you looking at?" she questioned, seeing the younger girl staring at her with an odd glint in her eye. Or, more specifically, just behind her. Soon enough, Bonnie couldn't hold it in anymore.

"SO CUTE!" she squealed, startling Serena slightly. Before the honey-blonde could puzzle out Bonnie's meaning, though, the driver announced their arrival at Prism Tower – and she abruptly realized the meaning when Ash shot up out of his seat to dash off the bus. Fighting to keep the heat from rising in her cheeks, she quickly grabbed her bag and followed him, trying not to look at the smirking Bonnie behind her.

* * *

After greetings were exchanged and siblings reunited (made somewhat awkward by the two siblings' *ahem* emotionally expressive father showing up and nonchalantly pushing the corner of a cape back inside his overalls), Serena released her Braixen to re-introduce her to Clemont.

The inventor was duly impressed, and said as much. Not one to be left out, Ash chimed in. "And she's not the only one whose Pokémon evolved! Check this out!"

"Now hold on a moment." Meyer interrupted as he drew his arm back to release Goodra. "You're here for your Gym Battle, right?" At Ash's nod, he continued, "Well, why not surprise him with it during the battle itself? I'm sure he has plenty of surprises for you."

"I concur." Clembot stated from the back of Meyer's motorcycle. "And speaking of surprises, this seat is surprisingly hard to dismount. Would you mind assisting me off?"

"Oh, sorry Clembot." Clemont apologized, hurrying over to help dislodge him. Seeing his three friends gazing quizzically, he explained what was going on. "You know that robber Officer Jenny was warning people about? Well, it turns out he was using a duplicate of Clembot as his assistant, and so Clembot had to go to the police station for questioning. Dad was on his way back from picking him up when you guys got here."

"So does that mean they caught the robber?" Serena asked. "My Nav was having some trouble connecting to the news server, so I didn't hear about that."

"The man in the Blaziken mask apprehended him." Clembot informed helpfully.

"So that makes, what, three times he's helped us out? Or was it more? Man, I wish I could meet this guy and tell him thanks for all the hard work he does." Serena and the siblings nodded in agreement, completely missing Meyer's uncharacteristic sudden nervousness. He relaxed somewhat when he heard Clembot's next comment.

"As much as I would like to assist you, I agreed to keep his identity secret as thanks for clearing my name. After all, the media attention would make it harder for him to do his job."

This only excited Bonnie more, though. "Wait, you've _met_ him? SO COOL! I wish I could figure out his secret identity – that would be super epic!"

"Epic would not be the word I would use to describe the meeting…"

* * *

 _"You know, your cape is still showing."_ _Clembot pointed out as he and Meyer drove along the Lumiose streets towards the gym._ _"If you're trying to keep your identity a secret, you need to be a little more careful."_

 _"Thanks for the tiiiiiiiiiiiwaitWHAT? You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"_

 _"Negatory. During my downtime, I have been frequenting some AI forums, and have been in contact with one (rather very intelligent, if I do say so myself) whose creator has gone public with his hero identity. The consequences are not ones that I would care to submit you to. I will not even inform your children without your express permission."_ _Seeing manly tears of gratitude welling up in Meyer's eyes, he quickly advised the electrician to focus on driving and save the emotional outbursts for his kids._ _"Oh, and you still need to tuck in your cape."_

"Disable flashback mode!" Clemont announced. "I _told_ you, I'm still working out the bug that keeps you stuck inside your memories – so try to avoid using it."

"My apologies, sir. Would you like to show Ash, Serena, and Bonnie your latest project? It might allow him to get some last-minute training in while still heeding your father's advice."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt…" the Gym Leader mused. "After all, it'll give us each a chance to give our teams one last pep talk before the battle. All right, everyone – follow me!"

"Of course it wouldn't." Clembot snarked as they walked inside the Gym. "After all, it's not like there's supposed to be a filler episode at this point in time."

* * *

"And here we are," Clemont said, opening the door to his workshop and pointing at what looked like a couple of motorcycle helmets. "It's right over there on that table."

"It just looks like helmets." Serena stated disappointedly. "What's so special about them?"

Clemont chuckled and pushed his glasses up his nose, the light reflecting off them and blanking out the lenses. "The future is now, thanks to science! Those are my new, patent-pending virtual reality helmets – I got the idea when helping Nurse Joy repair the Pokéball Transporter System. After all, if Pokémon can be transmitted as data inside computers, why not send the trainer in and let them train together inside that virtual space? That way, you can customize the training environment and AI opponents to fit your goals at the moment and streamline your progress."

"Man, that sounds cool! Science is so amazing!" Ash exclaimed fanboy-ishly. "What do you call them?"

"I call it the Nature-Emulating Rig for Virtually and Easily Gaining Enhancements in Abilities Rapidly." Clemont announced proudly. Bonnie, however, was not impressed.

" _Why_ can't you come up with better names, like Super Training or something?" she complained. "You make it sound impressive with your science words, but then the name makes it sound all lame."

Her brother sighed. "Korrina mentioned that too during the video chat we had a few days ago. Maybe it would work better as an acronym like she suggested…"

"You listen to her when she says that and not to me? I would be super mad if she wasn't right about NERVEGEAR sounding way cooler than whatever it was you said earlier!"

"Congratulations on giving away a plot detail." Clembot muttered at his lowest audible volume. At a questioning look from Clemont, he quickly rephrased his sentence. "You forgot to mention an important detail. Multiple helmets means that this isn't just a one-person machine. Using the Pokémon Center network, two users can choose to enter a joint session either for cooperative training or for long-distance battles. Or, if two trainers wish to have a battle but are in cramped surroundings such as a basement, they can use the short-range wireless connections to create a simple virtual battlefield."

"I was getting to that part." Clemont cut in. "After the initial setup, even if you're not in range of the PC network, you can still use a simplified form of training that involves attacking balloon Pokémon with less versatility. I included some heavy-duty batteries to keep them from running out of charge in the field, and an Electric-type should be able to recharge them no problem."

"But what about training for Showcases, when you have to move with your Pokémon? Wouldn't that limit the effectiveness?" Serena asked.

"I already thought of that. These helmets do more than just create an augmented reality around you, they basically transport your mind inside the computer so that the virtual environment feels real and your physical body won't wander around running into things and hurting itself. I've tested it, and the single-person version works perfectly – unfortunately, I had no way to test out the multi-user mode and find the bugs caused by the helmets' interaction with each other."

"Don't worry, I'll help you out with that. If it wasn't for the others wanting to watch, maybe we could have even used our Gym battle to test it!"

"That statement is incorrect on both counts. Clemont created a visual monitoring screen for beta-testing observations, and he also needs to remain here in order to watch for hiccups in the software. That means that one of your female companions will have to accompany you."

"I guess that works." Ash conceded. "You up for it, Serena?"

"I don't know… don't your inventions normally blow up?" she asked Clemont nervously.

"Don't worry," the inventor reassured her. "For this run we'll just be testing the immersion and ability to release Pokémon properly – it won't be trying to generate anything more than a grassy meadow. And Bonnie will be watching everything from the screen while I monitor the software." Serena sighed in relief, until she saw that Bonnie had the Look in her eye again and was tugging at her sleeve to get her attention.

"C'mon, I know you'll like it…" the little girl pleaded, before pulling Serena down to whisper in her ear. _"After all, it'll just be the two of you out on a walk together, surrounded by nature…"_ She smirked as Serena flushed and tried to stammer out a comeback. "I'm not hearing a no…"

"F-fine, if it'll get you to stop teasing me!"

"Wait, teasing you about what?" Ash asked, effectively killing the mood and causing Bonnie to facefault.

"You're so dense…" she muttered from the floor. Just then, Clembot re-entered the room pushing a couple of cots.

"Please return any Pokémon you wish to take with you, and then scan their Pokéballs with the reader attached to the helmet you will be using. Then lay down on the cots and wait for Clemont's signal."

"Hold on a moment. Pikachu, I know you don't like going into your Pokéball – do you want to stay out here and watch with Bonnie, or do you want to come in with us?" Pikachu pondered this for a few seconds. After all, the last time his trainer had entered the digital world, he nearly had a seizure – but on the other hand, that _was_ sort of his fault. Was going inside his Pokéball worth accompanying his trainer inside? It was, he decided, and nodded his assent.

"Okay then," Clemont announced from the computer once they had set everything up. Once I turn on the power, you activate the Gear by saying 'Link start,' got that? Alright, power on!"

"Link, start!" they announced as the clock chimed 1:00.

* * *

The first thing Ash noticed was a series of five rotating blue circles. As soon as he saw them, the one labeled "Sight" turned green and minimized in the corner of his vision. The others (Hearing, Smell, Taste, and Touch) soon followed, and were replaced by an account-creation window. After he filled it in, a confirmation dialog appeared.

|Is this information correct?|

| [Name: Ash Ketchum] |

| [Nickname: "Satoshi"] |

| [Password: *******] |

| [Yes]_[No] |

Selecting "Yes", he felt the phantom keyboard melt away from beneath his invisible fingertips, and a status bar labeled "Generating Avatar" filled his vision. As the bar filled and his virtual body assembled beneath him, he was impressed how seamlessly the polygons merged to form an exact copy of his real self. Experimentally, he took a few steps back and forth, then went through his pre-battle stretch routine (which Brock had advised would prevent sprains from overenthusiastic gestures) to ensure that he could move properly.

 _"All right, it looks like the calibration worked fine for both of you."_ Clemont's voice announced. _"Whenever you're ready to start, open your menu by pinching and dragging down with your right hand and select 'Full Dive'."_

"Okay, thanks!" Ash responded, following his instructions.

[Initial Installation and Loading: 0% Complete.]

[Loading Pokémon Typing Data]

[Data Loaded: Fire]

[Data Loaded: Water]

[Data Loaded: Grass]

…

* * *

"So far, so good." Clemont observed, leaning forward in his chair. "Nothing seems to be out of order…"

"How can you tell? Nothing's showing up on the viewing screen!" Bonnie complained, trying to shoulder her way in and look at Clemont's monitor. "And I only see a bunch of squiggly lines over here…"

"Well, these lines here show that their physical bodies are still in 'sleep mode,' these over here show the sensory input they're receiving, which is well within the appropriate limits, and these log the power consumption. All in all, everything seems to be working just –"

The lights dimmed for a few seconds, then flickered back to full power.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked, and Meyer poked his head through the door.

"Sorry about that – Magnemite and I both got hungry at the same time, and running the toaster while he was plugged in kind of tripped the circuit breaker in the kitchen. Is everything still working fine up here?"

"It should be. The helmets are running off their internal batteries, so I don't think the surge affected them."

* * *

[Da%a L#aded: Fairy]

[D t* LoX4d): F6*ht6n2]

[0a7 L1md3d: x&ych1c]

"Um, Clemont? What's going on?" Serena asked, brain buzzing with apprehension. "Is this supposed to happen?" As the seconds crawled past with no response, her pulse pounded in her ears and she almost felt nauseous, wishing that Ash was there to reassure her.

[Error Detected: Data Transfer Incomplete. Engaging Correction Protocol.]

The sight of the dialog box felt like it took a load off her mind, though it didn't completely erase her doubt. "I guess that means he has it under control…"

[Reloading Data to Helmet One: Fighting]

[Reloading Data to Helmet Two: Psychic]

[Loading Data: Steel]

[Type Information Complete. Connecting to Virtual World.]

[Connection established. Please close your eyes to streamline transition.]

Serena closed her eyes as instructed, and when she opened them again, her surroundings had changed drastically. Instead of a black void, she was standing in the middle of a grassy field, the sun high in the sky, with a gentle breeze blowing at her hair. "It feels so real…" she breathed out in awe.

Ash, of course, had to ruin the moment. "Yeah, science is so amazing!" he exclaimed, drawing her out of her reverie with an embarrassed flush. But before she had the chance to reprimand him, he was distracted by a motion out in the meadow.

"Wow, what's that Pokémon?" he wondered aloud, pointing at a blue Tepig-like creature rooting amongst the grass. "I've never seen it before!" He went to pull out his Pokédex, only to realize that he didn't have it with him. "Oh yeah, the hint window on the loading screen said that focusing on the cursor above it will activate the auto-Dex feature."

[Identified: Level 1 Frenzy Boar. No further information available at this time.]

"Aren't most Pokémon species names one word?" Serena pointed out. "Plus, it was supposed to just be an empty meadow. I think this is what Clemont was talking about when he said there might be bugs – I don't think that thing belongs here."

The boar seemed to take offense to that. Stamping its feet, it charged at her in, well, a frenzy – revealing that this was not a normal Pokémon.

* * *

Omake: Everything Works As Planned

* * *

 **Note: This is the first of several non-canon/semi-canon scenes that will appear at the end of each chapter. They were not originally planned, but I decided to go ahead and add them in after writing Chapter 3 (you'll see why when you read that chapter). Any that would seriously de-rail the plot will be non-canon; any that do not directly contradict will be semi-canon.**

[Type Information Complete. Connecting to Virtual World.]

[Connection established. Please close your eyes to streamline transition.]

Serena closed her eyes as instructed, and when she opened them again, her surroundings had changed drastically. Instead of a black void, she was standing in the middle of a grassy field, the sun high in the sky, with a gentle breeze blowing at her hair. "It feels so real…" she breathed out in awe.

Ash, of course, had to ruin the moment. "Yeah, science is so amazing!" he exclaimed, drawing her out of her reverie with an embarrassed flush. "Everybody, I choose you!"

His team formed around him, and Clemont's voice began to speak. _"It looks like everything's working out no problem. You can log out whenever you're ready."_

After giving a pep talk to his team, Ash returned all of them and the two Trainers logged out. He pulled off his helmet to see Clembot lecturing Magnemite about almost causing random fractures in the multiverse. "What's up with Clembot?" he asked.

"I have no idea…" Clemont admitted mareepishly, scratching his head in confusion.


	2. Chapter 1

**.**

 **A World of Swords**

(Anime Ep. 1, Part 1)

* * *

 **Note: When available, this story will follow the dialogue from the anime. For canon events not covered by the anime, it will take explanations from the light novels and try to adapt them into conversations.**

"Pikachu, I choose you/Pancham, come on out!" Ash and Serena announced together. Pointing at the charging boar, they instructed, "Iron Tail/Stone Edge!" Immediately, Pancham slammed its fists into the ground, summoning spikes of stone in a line heading towards the charging enemy, the last of which flung it into the air. Pikachu then used the spikes as stepping stones, vaulting above the boar and slamming an Iron Tail down on top of it.

As it crashed down onto the ground, the green bar underneath its cursor decreased rapidly, halting only a few pixels away from empty. Realizing its predicament, it changed tactics and charged for its closest opponent: Ash. He reacted on instinct, dodging sideways, dropping low and sweeping its legs out from under it like he had seen Fighting-types do on TV. The resulting faceplant drained the last dregs of its health, and it shattered into polygons. A window labeled Results then appeared in front of him, telling him that he had received EXP Points and some form of currency.

His confusion must have been evident, because after returning Pancham, Serena turned and asked him, "What's the matter, Ash?"

Locating a checkbox that said [Make window visible], he selected it and showed her. "I get the feeling we ended up inside some kind of "what-if-Pokémon-didn't-exist" fantasy videogame."

She processed his statement in grim silence, mind whirling at a hundred miles an hour. "If that's true, then wouldn't people get suspicious if Pikachu followed you around?" she asked, trying to imagine how it could have happened.

"That's a good point. Pikachu, you mind staying behind those rocks while we figure out what's going on?" Pikachu saluted and went to sit behind them – and just in time, as two other people jogged into the field immediately afterwards. The one in the lead, who looked somewhat like a manga protagonist, had an aura of familiarity about his movements, as if he had been around for a while. In contrast, the one dressed like a samurai seemed like he was still getting used to his body.

"Hey, Kirito?" he asked, looking in their direction. "I thought you said nobody was going to be here yet. So how did those two players get here so quickly?"

"I think the game dumped us here because of a glitch – we both logged in through the same computer." Ash interjected. "Was it supposed to start us out somewhere else?"

 _There are always bugs on release day… it's a fact of life._ Kirito thought, chuckling. "Looks like you're not the only newbie I'll be tutoring today, Klein. If they dressed their avatars in regular clothes and haven't been to the Starting City yet, they're gonna need to know how to fight just in case they run into any monsters on the way there." Opening up a trade window for each of them, he placed a basic one-handed sword in each Offered Items slot.

Ash opened his menu, grateful that it opened in the same way as Clemont's program, and looked in his inventory to see if he had anything to offer in return. Unfortunately, all he saw was his Pokéballs – and he didn't want to give those away.

"Don't worry about paying me back." Kirito told him. "I was given extra cash as a beta-test reward, and you guys need protection more than I need backup swords."

"Thank you very much!" Serena replied, bowing in gratitude. "I'm sorry for any trouble we may have caused."

Kirito waved her off. "It's no trouble. And this way, even if this bozo doesn't learn, I still have a chance to say I can teach properly," he ribbed, elbowing Klein good-naturedly.

"Hey, not cool, man! If you keep doing that, I'll run out of HP before I get to a real fight!"

"Doofus – I didn't hit you hard enough to cause any damage. Plus, there's a boar right over there. How about you show me what all you know, and then I'll give you pointers?"

"All right!" Klein fist-pumped, turning to the now-armed Ash and Serena. "Prepare to watch a master swordsman at work." he told them, and then charged towards the boar, swinging wildly.

 ***THWACK***

He almost immediately flew backwards, clutching a very sensitive area and causing Ash to wince. "Right in the nuts…" he moaned, curling up in a fetal position. "Kill me now…"

"Come on, seriously?" Kirito deadpanned, expression not having changed. "You can't feel any pain."

Realizing that was, in fact, the case, Klein stood back up. "Oh yeah, you're right. Sorry, habit."

"He gets kicked down there _that_ often?" Serena murmured.

"Kinda reminds me of my old pal Brock and his Croagunk." Ash responded. "I wonder if he's just as crazy about girls as Brock was…"

 _You recognize_ that _, but you can't ever seem to notice… *sigh* Never mind._ Serena turned her attention back to Kirito, who was explaining Sword Skills to Klein.

"If you do your initial motion right," he lectured, picking up a rock from the ground, "and activate a Sword Skill at the right time…" The rock in his hand took on a pink glow as he held it in a throwing position, nailing the boar solidly when he released it. "…The system guarantees you'll pretty much always hit your target."

"Initial motion?" Ash questioned from the sidelines, his full attention on the ongoing battle.

"Here's an easier way to look at it. Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home." Kirito clarified, while keeping the boar's attention on himself to let Klein make the connection.

A few seconds later it clicked, and Kirito smirked when he saw Klein get into a striking stance, the blade over his shoulder beginning to glow. He redirected the boar towards the aspiring samurai, who brought the sword down in front of himself and _leaped_ at it, his sword striking it as they passed each other.

A couple of seconds passed, Klein and the boar both slowing to a stop.

The boar then erupted into polygons, causing Klein to erupt in an enormous cheer, accompanied by Ash and Serena.

"Congratulations, that was nice." Kirito complimented him, giving him a high five. "But that boar's about as weak as slimes in other games are."

"Holy… you gotta be kidding me! I thought that thing was, like, a mid-level boss!" Klein complained, only to be met with a sarcastic "as if" from the beta-tester. He groaned, preparing to make another good-natured dig at the game, but was interrupted by the sound of the System Assist from the direction of the peanut gallery.

"Whoa, awesome!" Ash yelled, jabbing at thin air with a Sword Skill.

"Addictive, isn't it?" Kirito chuckled.

"I'll say," Klein answered, testing out different strikes himself. "So these skills – there's a ton of 'em, like blacksmithing and stuff, right?"

"Uh-huh. I heard the game has an unlimited number of them – all except for magic, though." Kirito answered, causing Serena to perk up as she realized she wouldn't necessarily be required to battle.

"A fantasy RPG without magic? Pretty bold choice, if you ask me." Klein commented before whooping in exhilaration again.

"It's kind of fun to move your body as you fight, isn't it?" Kirito asked, remembering his own initial excitement. His question was met with an enthusiastic "yes" from the two guys and an I-get-how-you-feel-but-it's-not-my-cup-of-tea "I guess so" from Serena. "Don't worry," he encouraged her. "If you don't feel like fighting, you can always choose one of the non-combat trades like Tailoring, Blacksmithing, or Cooking. But anyway, you guys ready to move on?"

"Yeah! Let's keep going until we get to the end!" Ash replied, subtly signaling Pikachu to follow them as they began walking.

Serena grabbed his arm as he walked past. "But what about getting out of here?" she whispered to him.

"I didn't see a logout button in the menu, so I guess we're gonna have to wait for Clemont to get us out from the outside. But remember what I told you when we were stuck in that crevice and I had hurt my foot? No experience is worthless, so let's enjoy the time we have here."

* * *

As the sun set over the physically-improbable landscape, the group sat on a cliff gazing out at the hourglass-shaped plateaus nearby. Kirito and Klein were discussing the beta-test, which the two Pokémon trainers did not comment on in order to avoid suspicion.

"Man, this scenery is amazing!" Ash remarked. "Even if nothing else happens, I'd say seeing this is worth having come here."

"You're right. But you know what makes it even better? Being able to watch it _with_ someone." Serena replied in a spurt of uncharacteristic boldness, taking a massive gamble and hoping that he would notice the subtle stress on the second-to-last word. If he did, however, he misunderstood.

"You're right – it's kind of rude to be sitting apart from our hosts." he said, standing up and walking back over just in time to catch the tail end of one of Kirito's speeches.

"…In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one. Anyway, you wanna go do some more hunting?"

"You know it!" Klein replied, before a chagrined look set in. "But the thing is…" The sound of two people's growling stomachs interrupted the formerly tranquil atmosphere. "…I'm really hungry. I have to log out."

Kirito chuckled. "Heh. Too bad the food you eat here only satisfies your hunger virtually."

"Yeah, for reals – that's why _I_ ordered a pizza for 5:30!" Klein announced triumphantly.

"Wow, you're so prepared." Kirito snarked. "I assume you two also have dinner plans?"

"Yeah, I think Mr. Rosenfeld is cooking dinner since we're in here and Clemont and Bonnie are busy." Ash answered.

"Oh, are those your siblings?" Kirito asked Serena.

She opened her mouth to deny it, before realizing that with as close as the group had become they might as well be. "Not biologically; but pretty much, yeah." she answered, unaware that she had just touched on a sensitive topic.

"I see…" Kirito trailed off, his carefree mood having been shaken. He was interrupted from the thoughts about his own "foster" sister by Klein inviting him to hang out with some of his other gaming friends later. Klein must have seen his hesitance, quickly adding that he didn't have to if he didn't want to. "Yeah, sorry. Thanks anyways."

"No way – we should be doing all the thanking!" Klein rebutted.

"Yeah, thanks again for everything." Ash and Serena chimed in.

Kirito smiled. "If there's anything else you guys wanna know, just message me."

"Sweet – I'll do that." Klein shook Kirito's hand and then turned around to log out, only to quickly become confused. "Huh? Where'd the logout button go?"

Deciding that it was safe enough to reveal now that someone else had the same problem, Ash said, "It's not showing up for me either."

 _*sigh* More bugs…_ Kirito thought, opening his own interface. "It should be at the bottom of the main menu…" he began, only to gasp when the regular space was blank.

"See? Not there." Klein affirmed. "Ah well, today's what? The first day out of beta? There's bound to be some bugs. I bet the server people are freakin' out right now."

"Speaking of freaking out, didn't you say you had a pizza coming at 5:30?" Ash asked, looking at the clock in his Heads-Up Display. "It's 5:25 right now."

Klein immediately started freaking out, only to be interrupted by Kirito asking if he had contacted the GM. "Yeah, I did that – but nothing's happening. He's not picking up. Are either of you guys having any luck?"

Ash looked over at Serena, whose face was becoming increasingly concerned as she tapped at the help icon on her menu. "None of our help requests are going through either. Is there some sort of emergency logout procedure we could try?"

Kirito considered the question before stiffening up in shock. "No. Whenever a player wants to log out of SAO, the only way they can do that is by going through the menu." Klein wouldn't accept that, and resorted to yelling different "cancel" commands at thin air. When none of them worked, he sighed. "Told you so. And there was no emergency logout in the manual either."

"No way, you're kidding." Klein protested weakly. "I know, I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head!"

"But doesn't it disable your real-life body for safety purposes?" Serena asked, hoping that the question wouldn't cause more issues than it prevented due to hardware differences. "I don't think you can just pull it off like that…"

"Seriously?" Klein responded angrily. "So now we gotta wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?"

"That… or until someone in the real world comes along and takes the NerveGear off us." Kirito amended. "That's it."

The news did not cheer Klein up. "I live alone," he stated. "I know you two said you're diving in a place with other people around, but what about _you_?"

"I've got a mom and a sister, and I'm pretty sure they'll notice by dinnertime and come looking –" Kirito was interrupted by Klein grabbing his shoulders and asking him a torrent of questions about his sister and her interests.

"Yep, he's definitely a lot like Brock." Ash commented under his breath as Klein got kneed below the waistline again.

"Get serious." Kirito said sternly. "Don't you think this is weird?"

"Yeah, totally. But it's just a bug..."

Kirito didn't buy into that explanation anymore. "This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, it's gonna cause some serious problems for the game." Another thought occurred to him. "I wonder if the developers even know what's happening – 'cause they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But why haven't they made an announcement?" As if the game was trying to prove him wrong, the bell in the Town of Beginnings began ringing, signifying something important.

"I guess we're about to find out." Ash commented as the world faded to white.

* * *

Omake: In which Density Leads to Stupidity

* * *

"Man, this scenery is amazing!" Ash remarked. "Even if nothing else happens, I'd say seeing this is worth having come here."

"You're right. But you know what makes it even better? Being able to watch it _with_ someone." Serena replied, hoping that he would notice the subtle stress on the second-to-last word. If he did, however, he misunderstood.

"Good point – everybody come on out!" he yelled, releasing his Pokémon to watch the sunset with them.

Kirito and Klein immediately stopped what they were doing to stare as a frog with a scarf and pince-nez made of bubbles, a luchador-patterned hawk with fists on its wings, a Japanese Robin the size of said hawk, and a vaguely dinosaur-shaped gooey blob appeared with a visual effect similar to equipping items. Even more strangely, the cursors above their heads were greyed out, just like the forum rumors during the beta had said about Tamed Monsters.

"You have _got_ to be joking…" Kirito managed to comment when he saw the robin cloak itself in _fire_ and the frog slice a rock in half like a ninja, while Serena merely facepalmed because Ash had blown their secret wide open. "Something is _really_ wrong with this picture."

 **Note: Another dense misinterpretation of Serena's intent that would have taken this story in a *whole* different direction.**

 **Also, credit to Fanfiction author I Am Lu (writer of** ** _The Ash Connection_** **) for popularizing the use of voice actors' last names for the characters without official surnames. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed the idea.**


	3. Chapter 2

**.**

 **The Rules of the Game**

(Anime Ep. 1, Part 2)

* * *

 **1:07 PM, Lumiose City**

"…The screen's still blank. Why's the screen still blank?" Bonnie asked, fidgeting impatiently in her seat. "Didn't they log in a couple of minutes ago?"

Clemont didn't look up from his own screen, typing rapidly to switch between different diagnostic displays. "That's what I'm trying to figure out." he answered, growing more nervous by the second. "Their vital signs are all normal, and the debugger isn't giving any error messages…"

Bonnie interrupted, pointing over his shoulder. "Is that number supposed to be switching between 60 and 1 like that?"

Upon seeing what she was pointing to, Clemont chastised himself for missing that detail. "Of course! I forgot to reset the accelerated-time feature I was experimenting with on the primary helmet before logging them in, and the resulting signal discrepancy wouldn't let the computer decide how fast the game was running, thereby preventing it from broadcasting the image!" Recognizing the confusion on Bonnie's face, he rephrased his explanation as he reset the value to 1. "One helmet was trying to run in real time, while the other was trying to run an hour a minute. The video program didn't like that, and so couldn't show what was happening. It should be fixed now. I wonder why they haven't logged out yet if they've been in there for so long, though…"

"Don't worry," Bonnie snickered as she walked back over to the chair. "I bet they're having tons of fun hanging out with just each other…"

" _Seriously_ , Bonnie? It's bad enough that you do that for me – do you _have_ to try and pair them up too?" the inventor groaned. "Just tell me if you see them – but _don't_ try and claim they're having a 'moment' just because you want them to."

The blond girl sighed disappointedly as the image came into view. "Nope, they're just standing in the middle of a plaza with a bunch of people in armor. They're not even looking at each other!"

"Hold on – did you say in a _city_? With _other people in armor_? That doesn't sound right…" Clemont rolled his chair over to take a look for himself, only to see that she was telling the truth. The monitor showed a standard RPG city full of normal player avatars – although the hexagonal warning panels honeycombing the sky were decidedly nonstandard, and neither was the viscous red fluid oozing out from between them. Clemont pushed his glasses up his nose, wondering if he had fallen asleep at his computer. There had to be a logical explanation for what was happening…

"Oh, it's a person." Bonnie commented as the gooey substance solidified into a set of flowing robes. "I wonder if he's gonna say something, and that's why everyone's there." Sure enough, everyone was staring at the figure as if he was preparing to speak, and Clemont turned on the sound so they could try and figure out what was going on.

* * *

"Attention, players," the robed figure announced. "I welcome you to my world." This statement was met with confused mutterings from the surrounding players. Unperturbed, it continued to speak. "My name is Akihiko Kayaba – and as of this moment, I am in control of this world."

Serena was simultaneously unnerved and angered. "I _knew_ something would go wrong when Clemont's invention didn't blow up, but throwing us in _here_? Why hasn't he pulled us out yet?"

"Like that guy said – this is his program, not Clemont's. I'm sure he's doing all he can to figure out how this world works so he can fix this." Ash reassured her.

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus – the logout button." Kayaba continued, pulling their attention back to him. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

"He's kidding… right?" Klein questioned, suddenly glad his stomach was empty.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain – and ending your life."

Predictably, the players' first reaction was disbelief and protest. However, when some of them attempted to exit the plaza, an invisible barrier prevented them from doing so. Klein was among the skeptical. "He's gotta be nuts, right?" he asked. "Right, Kirito?"

"He's not." Kirito stated dourly. "The transmitters in the headgear work like microwaves. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."

"But couldn't someone just unplug the helmet?" Ash asked.

"Don't you remember? It has a high-capacity internal battery – and Kayaba probably already thought about that." Kirito interjected. "There's probably some time limit that'll auto-activate the death sequence before the battery drains too low."

"You're right." Serena informed him. "He just said that it can't be unplugged from power for more than 10 minutes or from the computer for more than two hours without killing the user."

The beta tester laughed bitterly. "At least he gave the people outside a way to move players to the hospital safely. I guess he's not _completely_ heartless…"

Kayaba spoke again. "Despite my warning, the families and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the NerveGear – an unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."

"213?..." Kirito breathed, wide-eyed.

"I don't believe it!" Klein protested. As if to address his doubts, Kayaba pulled up several windows showing news sites documenting the events.

 _None of those publications seem familiar,_ Ash thought. "Hopefully this isn't true for Clemont's version of the headgear…" he muttered just loudly enough for Serena to hear.

 _"I don't think it's true, but with the number of similarities the technology has shown, I'd rather play it safe."_ Clemont's voice replied, causing both of them to look around for him and almost bump heads in the process. _"I doubt anyone else can hear me right now, since I'm talking directly through your helmets. Don't worry, if that is the case, I'll figure out how to stop it."_

"But what about our real bodies?" Serena asked. "The other players' are all getting taken to hospitals, but how will that work for us?"

 _"How long have you two been there?"_ Clemont asked.

"I think about five hours – why?" Ash replied.

 _"It's only been about ten minutes on this end."_ the Gym leader informed them. _"If I reactivate the time-acceleration function, then if 'clearing the game' like he said lets you escape, you shouldn't be in there longer than a week or two of real time if I haven't gotten you guys out myself. Prism Tower has enough emergency medical supplies to keep you guys healthy for that long, and I can get Nurse Joy to help set it all up. I won't be able to talk to you from the outside more than once every twelve hours – which would be about once a month on your end –though…"_

"You do what you need to do, and we'll do what we can from in here." Ash replied, placing a reassuring hand on Serena's shoulder. "And none of us will give up 'til it's over – right?"

 _"Right!"_ Clemont and Serena chorused, and Clemont disconnected to reactivate the acceleration – right before Kayaba dropped another bombshell.

"If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system. _Forever._ And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain." A stunned silence fell over the crowd as the words sunk in. "There is only one way for a player to escape now." the GM continued. "You must clear the game. Right now, you are gathered on Floor 1 – the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game."

"We can't clear all 100 floors…" Klein protested. "That's freakin' impossible! Even the beta testers never made it that far!" The attitude of the crowd echoed his statement.

Kayaba didn't seem to care. "Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." Figuring it couldn't get any worse, Ash and Serena opened their inventories to find a Hand Mirror item amongst the dropped Boar Flanks and other trash drops they had collected during training. It didn't seem to do anything when they equipped it, but everyone around them was suddenly surrounded by a pillar of bluish light – and their combined brilliance caused everybody's vision to wash out for a few seconds. When it returned, everybody else looked different.

"Ugh… You okay, Kirito?" Klein groaned, trying to steady himself.

"Yeah." Kirito replied, turning to look at Klein. The person he saw, however, was much scruffier than the samurai wannabe he had become accustomed to seeing. "Wait, who are you?"

"Why do you two look different?" Serena asked. "Is that what the mirror did?"

"You're saying we look different? If so, why do you two still look the same?"

Ash thought for a second, but could only think of one idea. "Maybe it's because our virtual bodies were designed to look like our real ones or something. Is that what you look like in real life?"

Kirito looked into the mirror again. "Yeah, but how did –" He stopped abruptly as the answer hit him. "The scan. There's a high-density signal device inside the NerveGear rig, and it can see what my face looks like. But what about the rest of me?"

"The initial calibration, remember?" Klein reminded him. "You had to pat your body all over so it could get a readout of the nerve signals for each part. But… but why go to all this trouble? What's the point?"

"I think he's about to tell us." Kirito answered, pointing at Kayaba.

"…Ultimately, my goal was a simple one: to control the fate of a world of my own design. And as you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck." At that, the figure dissolved with a warbling noise, soon followed by the hexagons covering the sky.

A prolonged silence fell over the amassed players, as they all came to the same conclusion (though some refused to accept it). _It's not a game…this is real._ The silence was finally broken by the anguished cry of a young girl wearing twin pigtails, followed almost immediately by a one-sided shouting match between the players and the sky where Kayaba had been.

During the confusion, Ash noticed Kirito running into an alley with Klein in tow. He turned to Serena to suggest they follow and saw her quivering with apprehension. "What's the matter?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder encouragingly. He was understandably startled when she latched onto him as tightly as she could.

"Didn't you hear what he said about losing all your HP? And even if we're safe, what about all these other people who _are_ at risk? I want to do _something_ , but what if I can't?"

Ash hugged her back. "I know how you feel – I feel the same way almost every time I run into a Legendary Pokémon or participate in a League conference. I also know you, and I know that you're stronger than this. Whatever happened to 'don't give up 'til it's over'? What happened to the girl who challenged her Rhyhorn racer mother to a sport that she disliked in order to follow her own dream? The girl who refused to let a debut loss define her? The Serena Paschall I know wouldn't take this lying down – she would push on to the end, knowing that I'm right there with her!" As he finished his speech, Ash felt the urge to point up at the sky dramatically and add on something about "fighting spirit" and "who in the Distortion World do you think we are," but decided that wouldn't be the best thing to do in a crowd of people (at least not without sunglasses like his Squirtle's).

Serena straightened up, reassured. "Right – thanks for reminding me. So what do you say we do first?"

"It looked like Kirito knew what he was doing – I was going to ask him for advice. C'mon, he and Klein are right over there in that alley." He started to dash off, only to realize that it would be easy for them to get separated in the crowd if they weren't connected. Linking their hands together, they made their way through the mobstacle course over to the alley.

* * *

"You know, those friends of mine I mentioned earlier…" Klein was telling Kirito as the two Pokémon trainers came into earshot. "We stood in line all night together to buy this, and I can't just leave 'em behind like that. They're probably still back there wondering what to do first." he added, glancing back towards the plaza. Seeing Kirito's eyes glance up to the HUD as if evaluating his capability to escort a group, the red-haired warrior made a quick decision and raised his voice so that Ash and Serena could hear. "Hey, don't worry about me. I used to run a guild in the last game I played, so thanks to your advice I think my friends and I are gonna be good to go. Escorting those two to the next town would probably be a better use of your time than trying to drag me along. After all, I don't think they have anyone to group up with."

Kirito turned to them. "Is that okay with you?"

"We were just gonna ask you what we should do – but traveling with you sounds even better." Ash answered. "That way we have a better chance of getting through this."

"All right then, see you guys around." Klein turned to head back and find his friends, pausing to hear Kirito's parting statement.

"Message me if you get into trouble, okay? I wouldn't want my teaching you to have been pointless."

Attempting to keep the situation light-hearted, Klein joked, "Worried about your image, huh? Don't be – you look better like this than your avatar did."

Kirito chuckled. "Yeah, and that scruffy face looks ten times better on you than your old one." he called out as the two groups started going their separate ways. "C'mon, guys, let's go." When he looked back, Klein had disappeared – though he thought he saw a flash of yellow and brown next to a crate behind them. He immediately dismissed it, however, focusing on the road ahead as he led the group at a run towards the fields outside the city. _I can do this_ , he thought to himself. _This world can't beat me! I will survive…_

Similar thoughts were running through Ash's head as he watched Kirito eliminate a wolf that spawned in his path while roaring a challenge to the land. _I didn't give up in the face of impossible odds before, and I won't give up now! Even if the world doesn't depend on me this time, Serena does – and I won't let her down. I can't! We're gonna get through this together, especially if Pikachu's got our back._ He risked a glance backwards and confirmed that yes, Pikachu had found them and was following in the grass. Sending a wink to Pikachu and a determined nod to Serena, he charged ahead into the massive world laid out in front of him.

* * *

Omake: Kayaba's Security

* * *

 _"I don't think it's true, but with the number of similarities the technology has shown, I'd rather play it safe."_ Clemont's voice replied, causing both of them to look around for him and almost bump heads in the process. _"I doubt anyone else can hear me right now, since I'm talking directly through your helmets. Don't worry, if that is the case, I'll figure out how to stop it. I just need to get past the quadruple firewall protecting the server you got rerouted to."_

"How long do you think it'll take?" Ash asked him.

 _"The first three security walls look relatively simple, but the fourth one looks like it'll be tough to break."_

"How about just acknowledge you're in a fanfiction?" I asked, unsheathing my twin katanas and running up the wall towards the massive figure. Red is _my_ signature color, thank you very much, and nobody but Deadpool gets to wear this much red unless they're copying me like that Spidey guy (no matter how much he tries to deny it) – and this guy is definitely not copying me! What a shame. Ah well, did you know that empty robes are among the most sliceable objects around? Not as much as mooks in between me and moolah, but I digress.

"…What. The. Heck." Kirito asked as the weird ninja guy (Hey, I'm not weird! Call me crazy, odd, or strange if you must, but Deadpool is not _weird_. Well, maybe I am, but I can't let the narrator have the last word – so nyah, nyah. Oh yeah, and I'm a mercenary, not a ninja, even though I do have mad ninja skillz) attacked Kayaba with katanas that he shouldn't have even been able to get this early. Predictably, a purple Immortal Object window appeared when he attempted to strike, but _un_ predictably (how could you have _not_ guessed I'd do something like that? Unpredictabilityness is my speciality!), he grabbed the window and started surfing through the air on it while throwing random objects at the GM like a shoe, a rubber chicken, and a bus being driven by a three-eyed mutant potato baby.

Outside the game, Clemont looked at his screen bewildered as the virtual representation of the last firewall dissolved into pixels, leaving only three to get through before he could figure out how to retrieve his friends.

 **Note: This was originally supposed to be a simple "fourth wall" stealth pun, but then PG-rated!Deadpool** (and I feel like you're really limiting my potential here – **Shut up.** ) **broke in and spray-painted it sparkly pink with flaming skulls, so I had to move it out of the actual story. It's also the scene I mentioned in Chapter 1 that started this story's trend.**


	4. Chapter 3

**.**

 **The Anneal Blade Challenge**

(Light Novel 08)

* * *

Since they were traveling as a group of three, the journey to Horunka Village took a little more time than Kirito originally expected. The increased player concentration seemed to have had the effect of attracting more enemies as they moved through the forest – but at least the two newbies were getting to practice combat. (This was actually because the system had interpreted Pikachu as a "tamed monster", and he was following closely enough that anything close enough to attack him was within aggro range of the players, who had a higher hate priority. Kirito didn't know that, though.) They had even figured out how to use the Switch technique without his prompting, citing tag-team experience in real life when he asked. In fact, with all the enemies the group had been fighting, they were probably close to a…

[Level Up!] the window in front of him announced, listing his stat point rewards alongside a small amount of currency. As he closed the dialog box, he heard Ash calling, "I think I see the village!" Sure enough, the lighted windows of the town's buildings could be seen in the waning sunlight just a little ways ahead.

They arrived in the torchlit square just as the sun hid its last rays from view, and Kirito immediately headed to the weapon shop. "You guys are gonna need armor if you're gonna survive here," he told them. "If you sell all your junk items to the shopkeeper, you should have just enough for an adequate piece of armor."

"Is that why you let us do most of the fighting on the way here?" Serena asked as the beta tester performed his transactions, immediately equipping his new leather chestpiece. "So we would get enough items to afford it?"

"That, and you two needed the practice. We're going to be fighting higher-leveled monsters while we're here, and I wanted you to be comfortable using your swords." Realizing that neither of them knew how to sell their drops, he decided to explain. "If you select the Trade option in your inventory menu and focus on the NPC's cursor, it'll open a window where you can drag all the dropped items and offer them to him. Then press Accept when he gives you a total."

"Okay, done. What next?"

"Tap the shelf with the armor on it, and it'll bring up a window with different armor options. For now, this one is probably your best bet – choose the "instant equip" option when it asks you."

"Excuse me, Miss Adventurer," a voice interrupted as a female NPC came out of the back, "but that dress is simply not suitable for battle. If you're going to wear armor, you need a proper tunic to go with it. I don't think any of these _boys_ would have thought about that, would they?" she asked, giving a matronly glare to the three of them.

 _I don't remember the AI being quite this involved this early on…_ Kirito thought, gulping. _And since when did Kayaba care enough about fashion to make the NPCs care? But I guess she does have a point – and if it gets Serena a discount, who am I to complain?_

He was interrupted from his musings when he heard her thanking the shopkeeper's wife and looked up to see her dressed in a tunic-and-breeches outfit and the armor he had recommended. "Tada!" she announced, turning to Ash and striking a cute pose. "What do you think?"

"She was right – that outfit looks great on you! I guess it's a good thing we got that silk from those spiders earlier. So, where to next, Kirito?"

Kirito sweatdropped, wondering how Ash could miss such obvious signs of interest. _It's almost as if he's the protagonist from a Shounen anime…_ his brain said at the same time as his mouth replied, "We need to get healing potions from the shop next door. Follow me."

After stocking up on recovery and antidote potions, Kirito led them to a house further in. Inside, an NPC woman was stirring a pot full of bubbling liquid. "Good evening, adventurers." she greeted as they walked through the door. "I hate to be a terrible host, but I don't have any food to offer you right now. The best I can give you is a glass of water."

"You know what? That sounds great, thanks!" Ash answered. "I hadn't realized I was this thirsty until now." The woman gave them each a cup and filled it with water from a jug, then went back to watching her brew. Downing it quickly, Ash wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Ahh, that hit the spot. Thanks a lot!"

The NPC smiled back at them – though Serena noticed it never quite reached her eyes. "You're very welcome." she replied, only to be distracted by the sound of coughing from the next room. That provided the missing piece of the puzzle, and Serena gasped as she realized that the pot on the stove was medicine and that they were intruding on a sick villager.

"We're so sorry for keeping you away from your patient. Is there any way we can help to make up for it?" the Pokémon Performer asked, hands clasped in front of her heart.

The woman's face lit up, and Kirito sighed in relief knowing that they had triggered the quest correctly. "As a matter of fact, there is. My daughter has been gravely ill for some time, but the local medicine can barely keep the symptoms at bay. I've heard rumors that rare Ovules from the predatory plants to the west have been successfully made into medicine that works, but I have no way of getting one. Even if I could leave her safely, I wouldn't be able to defeat one monster, let alone find the rare ones that have the ingredient I need. Would any of you be so kind as to find one for me? I'll make it worth your while if you do."

"Are you kidding?" Ash questioned. "We'd help even if there _wasn't_ a reward – just leave it to us!" The quest logs in their HUDs updated as they exited the house and headed west to the sound of the seven-thirty bell-chimes.

* * *

"Right there. That's the enemy we're looking for." Kirito announced, ushering the other two behind a tree. They followed his extended finger to see a monster that looked like a cross between a Carnivine and a Victrebell, with a toothy pitcher attached to a woody stalk and a mess of leglike roots. "See how its cursor is much darker red than the others, but has a yellow outline around it? That means it's a lot more dangerous to us at this level than the boars near the Starting City – but it's also the type of monster required for the quest."

"I don't see any flowers, though…" Serena pointed out, remembering the botany diagrams on display in Ramos' Gym. "Wouldn't the ovule she mentioned be part of a flower?"

"That's why she said it was rare – the ones with flowers don't spawn very often. But the more of these we kill, the more likely it is that we'll find the one we need." the beta tester explained. "You two stay here and watch while I show you how to safely fight these things. Their acid spray attack is a real doozy." Not bothering with stealth, Kirito stepped out from behind the tree and charged, dodging its whipping vines and striking at the connection between the pitcher and the stalk.

[Identifying.] Ash's HUD announced as he looked more closely at the strange plant, a revolving Pokéball symbol appearing in the corner of his vision. [Scan complete: Level 3 Little Nepent. This creature uses its sense of smell to hunt its prey, and knows the attacks Vine Whip and Acid Spray. Three varieties are currently known: Normal, Flowered, and Seeded. The Flowered variety drops the item required for your current quest, but will transform into a Seeded variety if left alone for too long. If the Seed on this third variety is damaged, it will emit a Sweet Scent variation that attracts any Nepents in the area.]

"Whoah, I forgot about the Pokédex feature!" Ash remarked as Kirito jumped sideways to avoid the viscous acid. "I wonder why it gave more information this time, though."

He and Serena both immediately received a PM labeled [Re: ID Feature]. Figuring it would have an explanation from Clemont, they opened it, taking turns reading and watching Kirito fight. [Your presence here has caused unforeseen disruptions in this game. At the request of one of my peers, I have patched your native software into the game engine to avoid catastrophic meltdown – however, revealing this to your fellow players would cause unnecessary problems. I would advise you to turn off this feature in your Settings menu until the Appraisal skill is unlocked to avoid being called cheaters. Even then, use it with caution. –Ximinez. Note: This message is set to auto-send upon first usage of the integrated Pokédex ID System after the tutorial.]

"I wonder who this Ximinez guy is." Ash commented. "Didn't that guy in the robes (Kayaba, Serena reminded him) say he was in charge of everything here?" His pondering was cut short by the sound of the Nepent fracturing into polygons.

"You guys think you have a grasp of how to fight them now?" Kirito asked, beckoning them over.

"I think so. Dodge the vines, avoid the acid, and attack the joint when possible, right?"

"Pretty much. You two take this next one, and I'll step in if you have too much trouble." Kirito sent them both party requests so that he could keep an eye on their HP. "We'll divide up the items once it's over – though it'll mostly be just trash drops.

"Right." The two of them stepped forward as another Nepent emerged into the clearing, turning towards them and grinning wickedly. Ash took point, charging in and swiping at the extended vines, which focused its attention on him. Dredging up memories of battles against James' Victrebell and Carnivine, he did his best to predict where the appendages would strike next and avoid them, slashing at them if they came too close.

Serena, meanwhile, took the stealthier approach, moving slowly along the left to avoid drawing its attention as Ash moved right. The strategy worked, and she was able to get in close enough to strike its weak point before it noticed her. When it felt the strike, though, it immediately disengaged, instinctively coiling its vine around her waist and yanking her away from itself. Its pitcher started expanding as it turned to face her, lifting her off the ground and preparing to fire a spray of acid. Just before it fired, though, Ash picked up a round rock and threw it with a motion honed by practice, knocking its head to the side and causing the acid to hit its own vine.

 _I never thought of that strategy_ , Kirito noted as the section of vine dissolved into polygons, letting Serena fall to the ground and depleting the Nepent's HP to about 40%. She recovered with a graceful roll, almost literally dancing around the remaining stub. _Then again, I've always fought these things solo or in a large group, neither of which would have let it work._ The two Trainers rushed at the Nepent from opposite sides, splitting its attention, and delivered a staggered _one-two_ attack that burned through its remaining health. It immediately shattered into polygons and a Woody Nepent Stalk x1 appeared in the party inventory display.

"Nice job." the beta tester called out to them. "Be extra careful about those vines, though – there's no guarantee the same trick will work twice. Also, be aware that Sword Skills cause you to briefly freeze up afterwards and can drain your mental stamina really fast. It may not be a problem now, but for higher-leveled Skills it can make a big difference." Receiving a nod of affirmation, he turned to address Serena specifically. "I'm guessing by the way you recovered from that fall that you do some kind of dancing in the real world?"

"Yeah, you should see her! She looks amazing when she's performing with her partners!" Ash interjected, oblivious to the sudden embarrassment he caused.

"I wouldn't say I'm _that_ good…" Serena mumbled, face red. She was clearly appreciative of the praise, though, her hand subconsciously straying to the blue ribbon on her collar.

Kirito almost facepalmed. How dense could this kid be? Pushing past it, he continued, "Some of the other beta testers said treating the battle as similar to a dance makes it easier to dodge smoothly once you find your rhythm. That might help keep you from getting caught off guard again." Serena nodded, then had to hold back a snicker as she remembered Ash's horrible attempts at doing so in Shalour City. "Aside from that, I think we're ready to tackle this quest for real. You two fight as a team and I'll fight solo – that'll allow us to defeat more monsters – and we'll discuss who gets the quest item when we find it."

"Right. But shouldn't we find a place that has more? We can't really fight two at once if only one shows up at a time." Ash replied, looking around.

Kirito agreed and led them slightly further into the forest to a larger clearing with Nepents scattered throughout. "We'll start at this end and work our way over. By the time we defeat all of these, more should spawn over where we started. Then we'll just keep doing that until we get what we need." Switching from conversation to battle mode, they rushed in and began fighting.

* * *

By the time twenty minutes passed, Kirito's advice had proven itself true. Rather than tag-teaming every Nepent they fought, Ash and Serena had progressed to the point where they could hold their own individually, and the monsters' cursors appeared a shade lighter than they had before. Kirito himself was fighting like a machine, their unspoken agreement to watch each other's backs allowing him to commit to all-out offense. Together, they had taken out roughly 60 enemies (Kirito's total accounting for about half) – but the mob with the required item still had yet to appear.

"I see what she meant about them being rare." Ash commented as Serena took out the last enemy with an elegant twirling thrust before walking over to them. "Does the quest usually take this long?"

"It's all random numbers, so who knows?" the beta-tester replied. "For all we know, Kayaba could have changed the spawn rate from the beta. They do seem to be dropping more trash mats than usual, though." Another Nepent spawned, and Kirito took a glance at their health bars. "I've got this one – you two get your HP back up out of the yellow."

Drinking a recovery potion, Ash leaned up against a low-hanging tree. "How much longer do you think we have until the next group of monsters finds us?" he asked, glancing up at the branches above him.

 _"Based on their electric signatures, I'd say the closest group is still about two minutes away_ ," Pikachu informed him from his perch in the tree. " _I'd be more worried about the person watching you guys from the bushes over there."_

Instantly on the alert again, Ash's eyes darted over to where Pikachu had indicated, now recognizing the silhouette of another player. He prepared to warn Kirito, but was interrupted by the level-up chime and the sound of clapping from the previously unknown person.

"Congratulations on your level-up – that was pretty quick." he told Kirito, who had taken a defensive stance upon hearing him. The newcomer tried to adjust his glasses, only to remember that his avatar didn't need any. "Sorry for not announcing my presence sooner; I just didn't expect anyone else to get here so fast."

 _He must be a beta tester too_. Kirito realized, his suspicions being confirmed by the follow-up question.

"You're doing the Secret Medicine of the Forest quest too, aren't you?" At a nod from Kirito, he continued. "Do you mind if I join your party, then? My username's Coper."

"I'm Kirito, and my companions over there are Serena and Satoshi – though people usually call him Ash." the beta tester customarily replied, still somewhat skeptical. "But why team up with us? You'd just have to wait even longer to get the Ovule, so how do I know you're not going to just steal the item and take off?"

"I promise that I won't do that," Coper reassured him, locking eyes to show his sincerity. "Scout's honor, as they say. Plus, it's getting late, when the Nepents come out in greater force – my survival chances are better with you than on my own."

Though he could tell that Coper was holding something back, Kirito chalked it up to the same reservedness he had felt since Kayaba had made the announcement and sent him a party invite. "Okay then, welcome to the party, Coper."

"Hey Kirito, they're spawning again!" Ash called out to him. "And some of them are appearing in groups of two, which means there's still plenty to go around."

The black-haired swordsman acknowledged him with a nod, and turned back to Coper. "Well, you heard the man – let's get cracking."

* * *

Two hundred Nepents later, they had only collected one of the four Nepent's Ovules they needed. "At this rate, it's gonna take all night…" Coper commented dejectedly.

" _All night_ for _one quest_?" Serena asked. "That's crazy – why would someone make a game that way?"

Kirito sighed. "You don't play a lot of RPGs, do you? Besides, we're trying to do a single-player quest as a group; it's gonna take a long time unless the game decides to give us all three at once or something. But that's never gonna happen."

As if to defy his words, three irregular Nepents immediately showed up in the clearing. Coper's eyes flashed as he reached up to once again adjust his not-there glasses. "I'll handle the one with the seed, you guys take the two with the flowers." he instructed, running off before anyone could say otherwise. Somewhat confused but not questioning it, the three of them rushed the Flowered Nepents.

Kirito and Serena quickly dispatched the first while Ash started on the second, joined by Serena soon afterwards. Just as Ash prepared to strike the finishing blow, Serena stiffened in shock as a familiar voice echoed in her head. _I may have given my word not to just steal the item, but that doesn't keep me from taking out the competition_ , the mental voice of Coper cackled, prompting her to look over at him and yell out a warning when she realized what he was trying to do.

Kirito, meanwhile, had started across the field to help Coper – who, strangely enough, hadn't done much damage. He was a little under halfway across when he heard Serena yell, "Watch out!" Unsure who she was addressing, he observed Coper more closely, freezing in horror when he saw the target of Coper's Sword Skill.

 _He's trying to get us swarmed by monsters in order to kill us without becoming an orange player,_ Kirito realized. _But how is he planning to escape himself?_ As his brain attempted to process this information, his mouth called out to Coper (though he knew it was pointless). "What are you doing? Stop!"

Coper had already relinquished control to the system by that point, and so had no way of stopping. "Sorry about this, Kirito." he replied, turning his head to face his fellow beta tester. "It's not personal, just survival of the fittest." His sword struck the seed, which ruptured loudly as he activated his Hiding skill to disappear from sight.

"Oh, shoot." was all Kirito managed before the clearing began flooding with Nepents as thick clouds covered the moon. "We've got company coming in from all sides!" he announced, rushing back over to his protégés to help them fight.

As soon as he heard the Sweet Scent Seed Bomb go off and registered Kirito's warning shout, an azure veil seemed to fall over Ash's vision. Rather than appearing as solid shapes, the inhabitants of the clearing looked like silhouettes of pulsing blue light, brighter for his companions than for the monsters. During the next few microseconds, his brain flashed back to the last time he had experienced this – back when facing a Pokémon hunter with a similar lack of qualms about killing for gain – and then to the first time, when he met a hero who was willing to give everything to save people he hardly knew. As his body moved itself almost automatically through the motions of the fight, he drew strength and resolve from those memories. Even though the enemies prevented him from doing anything for Coper, who was beset by more than 10 on his own, he would not let Kirito or Serena fall if he had anything to say about it! He threw himself into the battle, trusting the feeling that had guided Sir Aaron and his Lucario hundreds of years ago to help him protect his friends and silently lamenting when Coper's life force winked out.

The Nepents that had been assaulting Coper then began advancing on the beleaguered survivors, and Serena's heart sank a little at the odds they would be facing once the monsters arrived. Even though the selfish beta-tester had managed to whittle down their numbers to seven, three to twenty-one would be much harder to survive than what they were currently facing.

Thankfully, it seemed like someone or something was watching out for them – as evidenced by the lightning strike that speared down and ignited a puddle of acid in between them and the additional seven Nepents. As if he had expected this (and Serena wouldn't have put it past him, considering how close he and Pikachu were), Ash dodged out of the way of another Acid Spray, which connected the flaming puddle with another and transformed the flames into a barrier, giving them more breathing room. _That's Ash, always thinking outside the box…_ she thought proudly, managing to calm her mind. _And I'm gonna make sure he can keep doing it! He's not giving up, so I won't either!_

The rest of the fight passed in a blur. Serena vaguely remembered Kirito commenting "If only he had waited just a few moments longer" as the Nepents finally made it around the flame barrier, but was too focused on _watch their backs, don't get hit if you can help it, don't let Ash die I couldn't live with myself if he did_ to pay it much mind. It was only the feeling of Ash's hand pressing a recovery potion into hers and the don't-worry-it's-over-now attitude she felt coming from him that allowed her adrenaline to finally dissipate. Heart still thudding rapidly in her chest, she gulped the potion down as she leaned on Ash for support – mentally chastising her inner self for celebrating how he seemed to be doing the same.

Once Ash saw Serena's HP bar start to increase on his HUD, he turned his head to face Kirito, careful not to disturb her. Between breaths, he questioned, "Why? Why'd that guy try and kill us?"

Kirito considered his next words carefully. "If I had to guess, I'd say he was one of those guys who thinks being the strongest means taking out the competition before they become a threat to you. Combine that with the length of time it was taking to find the Ovules, and it's no wonder he decided to take that opportunity – not only would we be out of the way, but he would have also been able to steal one of ours from where they dropped upon death." Stooping down, he picked up a fourth from where it lay at his feet. "And the sad part is, we probably would have found this one within another ten minutes, making his plan pointless."

"But wasn't it pointless anyways?" Ash countered. "How did he expect to escape from the Nepents himself?"

"He planned to use his Hiding skill to escape their notice, then steal our dropped items once they left." Seeing Ash's quizzical look, Kirito realized he had never explained the Skill Tree to them. "It's one of the first abilities available to players in the Skills sub-menu, and it hides your avatar and cursor from monsters and other players. The problem with his plan was, the Nepents don't use sight to hunt – they use smell. Otherwise, it might have worked."

Ash shuddered to think what might have happened if Pikachu hadn't delayed the other Nepents' approach – especially if they hadn't noticed Coper. Even with the Aura boost he had experienced, his health had still fallen nearly to the red zone, and Serena's actually had.

Kirito walked over to where Coper's sword had fallen, picking it up and driving it into a tree root. "But at least he was honorable enough to give us as much of a fighting chance as possible once he realized they could find him." he acknowledged, placing the fourth ovule into an indentation on said root. "Even if the durability of these items doesn't last long, he still deserves at least this much to remember him by." A rustle in the undergrowth caught his attention, reminding him that they were still outside a Safe Zone. "Right, we'd better head back to the village and turn in the quest."

As the group began to make their way back through the forest, Pikachu emerged from the bush he had rustled, glad they were headed back to safety. Now he just needed to keep their path clear by drawing the monsters away from where they would be. _Quick Attack will do nicely for that_ , he decided, drawing on Frogadier's stealth advice to keep himself out of sight as he bounded through the foliage.

* * *

"Thank you so much!" the townswoman told them enthusiastically, accepting the Little Nepent's Ovules from them. "Now I can make three times the medicine! Please, accept these swords as a token of my gratitude." Walking over to a loose floorboard, she pried it up and retrieved three swords from the cache beneath. "My husband, may his soul rest in peace, was a blacksmith, and he told me to give these to any adventurers who proved themselves worthy of wielding them. By your selflessness, you have shown that you are indeed worthy."

 _Well, that's definitely changed from the beta – she used to get the sword from that chest over there, and it used to be a priceless heirloom,_ Kirito mused as he received the Anneal Blade and the "quest complete" message appeared, boosting him about halfway past level 4. _Maybe to allow multiple players to turn in the quest at once?_

A yawn from Serena interrupted him, reminding him once again that neither she nor Ash was used to online gaming or the late hours to which it usually led. "You two may want to turn in for the night." Kirito advised them, dissolving the party using the "even item distribution" option. "If you head back to the village square and take a right, the villagers there are usually willing to rent out rooms to adventurers – though you may want to sell some of the Nepent stalks before you get there to make sure you have enough to pay. The other beta-testers we saw shouldn't bother you, since they came here to level up, not rent a room."

"Thanks, but what about you?" Ash asked, fighting back a yawn himself.

"I'll be fine – I stay up this late all the time in the real world. And like I told Klein, message me if you get into trouble and I'll do what I can to help you."

"Right. Thanks a lot!" Accepting the friend requests he sent, they made their way toward the area Kirito had told them about. True to his prediction, hardly anybody else was there, and the villagers were more than willing to rent out rooms.

That didn't mean they capitulated completely, though. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to my neighbor and rent a room for each of you?" the one they were talking to asked. Figuring they were just trying to raise prices, Ash and Serena declined. "If you say so…" the villager replied, shaking her head. "If you're worried about privacy, nobody else will be able to open the door or listen in on you without knocking first." she added, leading them to the room.

 _Great – that means we'll be able to release our Pokémon safely,_ Ash thought happily. "Come on out, guys!" he announced quietly as the door clicked shut behind them.

"Um, Ash?" Serena said, drawing his attention to the single bed in the room. "I think I see why she suggested getting two rooms."

Ash thought for a moment, cracking the door open for Pikachu while he did so. "It's got two blankets, right? I'll just use one as a sleeping bag and sleep on the floor." Turning to his and Serena's Pokémon (who were wondering what was going on), he informed them, "Long story short, we got stuck inside a videogame where Pokémon don't exist, and we may be here for a while. We'll try and let you guys out as much as we can, but if we don't release you as often, that's why."

Their reactions ranged from shocked (like Braixen and Pancham) to calm acceptance (such as Frogadier and Hawlucha) to a (thankfully non-slimy) hug offered by Goodra, who knew what it was like to be thrown into an unfamiliar world without having a say in the matter. _"I hope you find friends to help you get through this like I did,"_ the gooey dragon told them, forgetting that they couldn't quite understand him.

Thankfully, Pikachu was able to relay the message, and Ash smiled in thanks, sitting down on the bed to unequip the armor he was wearing. "Thanks, Goodra." As he navigated the menu, a thought occurred and he chuckled, stifling another yawn. "Y'know what? We actually already did find some friends to help us – Klein and Kirito." Realizing that just names would be meaningless, he decided to try and describe them. "Klein's basically like an older brother; goofy a lot of the time, but serious when it comes to people or things he cares about. Kirito, on the other hand…" He trailed off, trying to think of an apt way to describe the beta-tester.

"I'd say he's kind of like Frogadier." Serena put in, having sat down next to him to brush Braixen's tail. "He's a little quiet but willing to open up if he trusts you, and he seems most comfortable when fighting. In addition" – here she indicated the Frubbles she was using as a brush, also yawning as she did so – "he's willing to sacrifice to help those who need it."

Braixen barked in agreement, causing Frogadier to start protesting that the Frubbles weren't as generous as they seemed – until he realized that the pillow he had just made Goodra only supported their point. Sighing in defeat, he joined the group of Pokémon relaxing against Goodra's mattress-like stomach and preparing to go to sleep.

"Uhh… weren't you gonna sleep there?" Serena asked, looking at the now-filled floor space with simultaneous nervousness and relief. "I mean, I'm glad you won't be stuck on the ground, but –"

She was interrupted by Goodra muttering " _human support best thing for each other right now_ " from inside his 'pillow,' translated as before by Pikachu. " _Hugs help hold off nightmares. Shows you're there and won't leave. 'S why it's good to have arms._ "

Neither Ash nor Serena had the energy to (or even thought to consider) disagreeing with his sentiment, the drowsy attitude of the room having overtaken them as well. As Pikachu blew out the lamp, he caught a glimpse of Ash laying against the wall in his makeshift sleeping bag with his arms wrapped reassuringly around Serena. " _We'll help you get through this, Pikapi._ " the Electric-type vowed, settling down next to them on the bed as sleep claimed him.

* * *

Omake: Kayaba Codes in Python

* * *

"Whoah, I forgot about the Pokédex feature!" Ash remarked as Kirito jumped sideways to avoid the Nepent's viscous acid. "But why did it give more information now than it did earlier? Did Clemont manage to figure something out? And if so, why did he patch that in instead of pulling us out?"

"How did I get here?" James yelled from where his head was stuck inside the plant monster's mouth. "Where are Jessie and Meowth?"

"Why would I know?" Serena protested. "I didn't expect some sort of Spanish Inquisition!"

[NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!] the system announced as a flock of Cardinals flew out of the trees and started tickling everybody's faces, mussing up their hair, and performing other inane Unishments. Unfortunately, since the Cardinals were no longer monitoring the game server, the glitch they had been in the process of correcting crashed the entire g*2).#?W_GV)E DROP TABLE Players;-

[Error: Connection Lost]

"Maybe I shouldn't have suggested that software patch…" Clembot admitted as Kayaba's AI berated him loudly over the chat forums.

 **Note: I'm pretty sure Randall Munroe's webcomic XKCD (not necessarily child-friendly) had something to do with my idea to mix a computer joke and a pop culture reference. And that led to a direct XKCD reference. I BLAME YOU FOR THIS ONE, RANDALL! (Not really. It's all Mrs. Roberts' fault WAIT NO I DIDN'T MEAN THAT PLEASE DON'T BRICK MY COMPUTER THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO – )**


	5. Chapter 4

**.**

 **The Strategy Meeting**

(Anime Ep 02/"Aria in the Starless Night", Part 1)

* * *

 **Note: Fudging timeline slightly from light novels in order to allow for logical progression of events. Also, to prevent instances of "What Happened To the Mouse" from popping up later on in reviews, the name Ximinez was just a one-off joke based on the fact that it was Cardinal who sent the message. Any lines of dialogue lifted from or references to other works belong to their original authors, as they have since the Prologue.**

The sound of clashing steel echoed through the cavern of the first-floor dungeon as Ash struck fiercely at one of the creatures in front of him. It blocked using its armored appendage, quickly striking back with a blur of silvery-grey. He jumped over the blow coming for his feet from behind, knocking aside the retaliatory strike with a Sword Skill just before it hit him. Unfortunately, the Post-Motion Freeze left his guard open – and a _third_ ambushed him from above, foregoing use of a weapon to bowl him over with its momentum. He slammed up against the wall, HP falling by several points as his opponents turned to face him again.

"Nice job with that Flying Press, Hawlucha." he chuckled as he pulled himself to his feet. "I keep forgetting that not everything here will be stuck on the ground like the monsters here. And you two did a really effective job at keeping me occupied – you're getting a lot better at battling together without me directing you." Pikachu and Frogadier exchanged a fist-bump, and Hawlucha struck a triumphant pose. "Hey Fletchinder, we're still good for privacy – right?"

The avian Pokémon responded with an affirmative squawk from its perch in the entrance hallway, where it had been stationed to watch for approaching players or monsters. Acknowledging the answer, he turned to Serena, who was busy training a different skill. "You doing okay over there? I know we figured this would be safer than getting hurt in battle and will help keep you safer later on, but I still can't help but feel kind of worried."

Serena flushed slightly at his words, grateful that it was masked by the thin spiral of flames twirling around her (courtesy of Braixen). "Thanks, but don't forget – I worry about you too. Besides, this works as showcase training; it helps Braixen control the intensity and shape of her Flamethrower, which will let us create more complex performances."

Ash admired the fact that, even trapped in a death game, Serena hadn't given up on her goal. "Just make sure you have healing potions handy." he reminded her, thinking _it's too bad training for Battle Healing requires constantly putting your health in the red-zone._ "We wouldn't want to risk your HP actually hitting zero."

 _"Thankfully, that's not going to kill you."_ Clemont's voice cut in, surprising them. Braixen hurriedly cut off her Flamethrower so that Serena wouldn't fall into the flames when she stumbled in shock.

"A little warning next time would be nice!" the blonde Performer yelled, heart racing as she leaned up against the wall. "That could've caused a real problem!"

 _"Sorry about that,_ " he apologized, sounding as if he was rubbing his ears in discomfort. _"I thought you would have been expecting it – it_ has _been about twelve hours."_

"Twelve hours? Try a _month_." Ash responded at a slightly more reasonable volume while reminding Serena to drink a recovery potion. "We were starting to think you'd forgotten about us."

 _"Oh yeah, I forgot about the time acceleration…"_ Clemont admitted mareepishly. _"I probably ought to figure out a way to work around that. Maybe if I introduced a parameter that delayed temporal deceleration for communication purposes until it received an affirmatory signal from the receiving end –"_

 _"There you go on one of your sciencey rants again."_ another voice interrupted. _"Just save that for later and give them the message already!"_

"Wait a minute – is that Korrina?" Serena asked, confused. "What's she doing there? And where's Bonnie?"

 _"She said her Lucario started acting weird during Mega-evolution a couple of days ago and demanded to come here for some reason. It seems like Lucario wanted to give you a message, though I'm not sure how well that'll work. And of course Bonnie – who's in bed right now because it's about 1:30 AM here – had other *ideas*_ (they could hear his shudder at the word) _about why she was here…"_

After sharing an awkward chuckle and sweatdrop with Serena, Ash replied, "Don't worry, I can have Pikachu translate for him. And sorry about keeping you guys awake so long – we actually just recently got up. I guess the time speed-up thingy you mentioned is what made that happen."

 _"It's okay, I've stayed up later than this inventing before."_ Clemont reassured them. _"I don't know about Korrina, though, so I probably ought to let Lucario give you his message just in case she decides she wants to go to bed."_

He passed the microphone to Lucario, who began speaking. _"He apologizes for not recognizing your potential when we were traveling with them,"_ Pikachu translated, _"and wishes to tell you 'I sense that this is a vital time in your life – and so I must remind you: The Aura is with you, so do not neglect to listen to its flow. It could mean the difference between survival and failure.' Of course, you already experienced that firsthand…"_

"Oh quiet, you." Ash snarked back, ruffling Pikachu's fur playfully. "Just because I had to use it before I heard it doesn't make his advice useless. Thanks, Lucario – I'll try and focus on it a little more in the future. Hopefully it won't take too long, though, 'cause Clemont's still working to get us out of here, right?"

 _"You see, that's kind of what I called to talk to you about. There's good news and there's bad news. The good news is, the hardware you're using won't actually kill you if your HP drops to zero. The bad news is, what little I found out about the game server implies that user data is on lockdown until the game is cleared – so you can't escape that way. That means that if your character dies, you'll most likely be either asleep or stuck in a world of nothing until somebody manages to win."_

"…So you're saying we should still be super-careful, right? Given that we're still stuck on the first of a hundred floors after this long, I think I'd go crazy if I had nothing to do until the last one was beaten – and I'd bet Serena feels the same."

 _"Right, and I'll keep working from this end."_

A surfacing yawn interrupted Clemont, prompting Korrina (who was stifling a yawn herself) to remind him, _"Don't forget, you need to sleep too. If you don't, sometimes your spaghetti acts like brain and you can't theak or spink right."_

 _"What do you mean? I'm still thinking as shortly as ever, and they still need my harp…"_ the inventor protested, his words beginning to slur slightly.

"It sounds like you could both use some sleep." Serena observed, before grinning mischievously as an idea occurred to her. _This is the perfect retaliation for making us think he forgot about us,_ she thought as she added, "After all, you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself in front of Korrina even more, would you Clemont?"

 _"Not you too…"_ he groaned, too tired to argue or protest. _"I get it, I'll go to bed and talk to you again in the morning. Stay safe."_

"Got it." Ash replied, already preparing to start practicing Aura Perception. As Clemont terminated the connection, his sense of time felt momentarily stre tc h e d

– and then it snapped back to normal as a Private Message notification popped up in the corner of his vision, calling his attention. He opened it to find a message from Kirito.

[Can you help me carry an unconscious player out of the Boss Labyrinth? She exhausted herself fighting monsters on the third floor of the dungeon, and my STR stat isn't high enough to move her very quickly.]

A quick glance at Serena confirmed that she had gotten an identical message, as she was currently returning Braixen to her Pokéball. "Sorry, guys. I guess we're gonna have to cut training short." he apologized, performing the same action with his team and replying, [On our way. How'd you know we were here, anyway?].

[Friends List Locator.] Kirito answered. [Southwest safe zone, third floor.]

[Right.] Leaving the chamber (which allowed the miniboss their Pokémon had taken out to respawn), they quickly located Kirito and helped him to carry the unconscious player outside.

* * *

Several hours passed, during which time the three of them rotated between guarding the mysterious swordswoman and picking off stray mobs near the edge of the clearing they were in. Kirito was surprised to notice that Serena had taken the "fight-as-a-dance" advice rather literally, having sacrificed damage-per-second for fluid movement by switching to a dagger. When he asked what she had done with the Anneal Blade they had earned, she confessed that she had allowed an info broker to look for buyers for her.

"Did she, by any chance, have a mousy-looking face with whiskers painted on it?" Kirito asked, with a sneaking suspicion that it was Argo the Rat, who had been anonymously communicating offers for his own Anneal Blade. When Serena nodded, he noted, "Well, at least you chose a trustworthy seller. She may kill your wallet selling you information, but Argo always keeps her word."

"Hey, guys – she's waking up!" Ash interrupted, calling them over. The swordswoman sat up, blinking in confusion at the change in her surroundings. _She's probably confused about where she is,_ Kirito thought. _In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the first thing she asks is_ –

"Why are there more of you?" she demanded, grabbing her rapier from where it sat beside her. "And why did you try to save me? I thought I made it clear that I don't care whether or not I die here."

Noticing Ash's shocked expression as he prepared to protest, Kirito held up a hand to silence him. "Even if you don't," he replied, weighing his words so as to not offend her, "you probably have lots of map data from spending four days in the labyrinth that would be pointlessly wasted if you did."

Huffing in annoyance, she used her menu to transcribe the map data onto a scroll and threw it at him. "There, now it won't be wasted. I'm headed back to the maze now."

Ash couldn't take it anymore. "Why don't you care if you die here?" he protested. "If everybody thought that way, nobody would get anything done at all!"

"It doesn't matter. If you don't die now, you will later. That's the way this game works – just ask the 2,000 people who are already gone." the fencer answered darkly.

Still unwilling to see her pointlessly sacrifice herself, Kirito pulled out the first response he could think of. "Then why not _make_ it matter and wait until the boss fight? We know where the boss room is, and there's a Strategy Meeting in the town of Tolbana later today." There was a moment of tense silence before she slowly nodded in assent, and the four of them began walking over to the town.

* * *

The walk back was spent mostly in awkward silence, and as soon as they entered the boundaries of the Safe Zone area the swordswoman brusquely bid them farewell. "The meeting's in the central theater in about an hour!" Kirito called after her, only a slight hitch in her stride betraying that she had heard.

"Strange girl, isn't she?" a slightly nasal voice interjected from behind him. _And of_ course _Argo's here_ , Kirito thought, turning to look at the auburn-haired info broker. "I thought she would die earlier on, being a noob and all – but spending four days inside the Boss Labyrinth ain't something a lot of players are capable of."

"Wait, how do _you_ know she was in there for that long?" Ash questioned. "You weren't there when we found that out…"

"Argo's an info broker, remember?" Kirito cut in before the Rat could say anything. "She keeps tabs on any player who catches her interest, can help her make a profit, or both. And knowing her, she would have tried to sell you that information at a steep price."

"Aww, you're no fun, Ki~bou…" Argo complained. "Don't tell me you're _not_ curious about her."

"I didn't say that." the beta-tester defended himself. "I just don't feel right paying to find out a female player's information – it might get taken the wrong way. After all, you wouldn't like it if someone paid to hear what you'd been doing behind your back, would you Serena?"

The Pokémon performer's eyes flashed dangerously, the intensity of her Glare causing his muscles to lock up momentarily. "No way!" she answered, Ash chiming in an agreement. "TV reports are okay, because they need your permission to use the footage – but that's almost Team Rocket-level stalking!"

"TV reports, eh? I wonder why I don't recognize her, then…" Argo mumbled, filing away that piece of information. "And what d'ya mean by 'Team Rocket'?"

"She only appeared on a few local programs, and they're some guys who followed us around bothering us sometimes in the real world." Ash answered evasively, not wanting to give anything away. Fortunately, as soon as the unofficially taboo matter of the real world was mentioned, Argo dropped the matter and turned back to Kirito.

"So, too moral to buy her info?" she teased playfully. "I should've expected nothing less from the great Kirito, hero of mysterious women and hopeless noobs all across the first floor…"

"Cut it out, Argo." Kirito replied, a smidge of color on his cheeks betraying his embarrassment. "I know you had a reason for showing up here – and it wasn't just to tease me about the way I treat people. Did that anonymous guy make another offer for my sword?"

"Not here," the info broker cautioned with a serious look on her face, leading them into a nearby alleyway where they would be less easily overheard. "And actually, this concerns both you and Serena. The buyer offered 29,800 col for your sixth-level Anneal Blade, but doesn't want to buy Serena's fourth-level blade unless he's convinced he absolutely can't persuade you to sell yours." Addressing Serena, she continued, "And since he's obviously willing to pay so much for Kirito's, I decided to do you a favor and raise the price by the same amount – minus a small broker's fee, of course – every time he does."

Kirito couldn't resist the chance to get in some vengeful ribbing of his own. "Now who's helping 'hopeless noobs'? What happened to the Argo who offers a free lunch in order to sell information for double the price of the food?"

"First of all, she's no more hopeless than that mystery girl – info deal's still on the table for 500 col, by the way – and second, this way she owes me a favor _and_ I still get a cut of the profits. My reputation is still unblemished, thank you very much Ki~bou." The amused smirk on the broker's face took the edge off her words, however.

Not to be deterred, Kirito fired back, "Revealing your motivations for free? You're slipping, Argo… Besides, I thought I told you I wasn't going to buy that information."

"Well, would you be willing to buy the name of the mysterious buyer for 1100 col?" Argo asked, suddenly all business again. "He's currently offering me 1000 to keep his identity secret, but if you outbid him he may give in."

"Isn't 1100 col expensive to just learn somebody's name?" Serena cut in, confused. "And why would anyone want to pay that much to keep it a secret?"

The two beta testers – at least she assumed they both were based on the way they spoke to each other – looked at her quizzically, as if she was from another world or something (which honestly wasn't too far off the mark). "…You have a lot to learn about online gamers." Kirito finally said, exchanging a meaningful glance with Argo. "They enjoy the idea of anonymity because they can do things they wouldn't normally do without fear of payback or revenge, like ganging up on people they think have an unfair advantage, even if they worked hard to earn that strength." Addressing Argo, he added, "Speaking of which, you can tell Mr. X that I'm still not selling him my sword. That means I don't need to buy his name either."

"Suit yourself." the Rat responded, scurrying off into the crowd to deliver the message.

There were a few seconds of silence as Ash and Serena processed Kirito's explanation before Serena recognized its significance. "Is that why both of you avoid talking about your previous 'experiences' in this game? Because then the new people will try and bring you down to their own level even if it means not getting out of here?"

"Unfortunately, yes. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody at the strategy meeting made that exact demand. And with this kind of people, I don't think you saying 'they're not all bad, one helped us' is going to change their opinion." he cautioned them. "So if you feel like you want to speak up, would you mind sitting elsewhere so as not to draw suspicion to me?"

"All right, you got it." Ash answered, giving him a grin and a thumbs-up. "The two of us are gonna go get something to eat before the meeting – that way, we can get there separately too. Thanks for the tip about the Heifer Strikes Back quest, by the way. The bread tastes a lot better with cream on it."

At that, the two Pokémon trainers walked out of the alley towards the marketplace, leaving Kirito fumbling to formulate a farewell. "Have fun on your date!" he finally blurted out, a wave of embarrassment hitting him immediately afterwards. Strangely, though, it reminded him of the brief period of the beta where he had tried using a female avatar – a distinctly feminine sort of embarrassment. Additionally, _everybody_ in the area flinched when it happened, as if they had all felt it too. _Could that have been… no, that's ridiculous_ , he dismissed as soon as the idea popped up. _Magic doesn't exist in SAO, and ESP doesn't exist in either world. I must've been imagining it._ He waited a few moments to lessen the chances of being noticed and slipped out of the alley himself, leaning up against the wall to observe the crowd as he waited for the meeting to start.

* * *

 _Well, this is more people than I expected, what with the fear of permanent death and all…_ Ash thought as he and Serena entered the amphitheater to join the forty-odd adventurers already there. _I guess these guys must be the bravest ones in the game._ He must have voiced that thought aloud as they sat down, though, because a voice from behind him immediately responded.

"Not really. This isn't even enough for a full raid group." Argo said as she emerged from the shadows next to a pillar. "And most of 'em are just worried about falling behind the front-liners – they're more afraid of not being the best than being dead. That'll be 100 col, by the way."

"We didn't even ask for that info." Ash grumbled good-naturedly as he paid the (for them) paltry sum, having figured out _if you humor the Rat, she'll be more likely to humor you_. "I'm guessing you're here to keep up with the updated information about the boss, not necessarily for the fight?"

Argo smirked noncommittally. "For that little piece of wouldn't-you-like-to-know, 1200." But before either of them could answer, the sound of clapping from on stage pulled everyone's attention to the person standing there.

"Okay, people!" the blue-haired warrior announced. "Now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started. First of all, thanks to everyone who came. My name is Diabel, and my job in this game is Knight."

A wave of chuckles swept through the crowd as one of the players up front heckled, "Dude, there _is_ no job system in this game. Just get to the point already." Regardless of the veracity of Diabel's statement, though, it seemed to undercut the tension in the air slightly.

A brief flash of _good, that worked_ appeared on Diabel's face before being replaced by seriousness. "Right. Anyway, here's the deal. One of our scouting parties recently found the Boss Room at the top of the tower. I'm sure you all know what that means, right?" A wave of slightly incredulous yet hopeful murmurs ensued before the blue-haired knight called their attention again. "It means that our first order of business is to beat the boss and unlock Floor Two. Once we do that, we'll be able to tell the people still in the Starting City _with confidence_ that this game _can_ be beaten! Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here. Do you agree or not?"

The assembled players seemed to agree, as evidenced by the applause that quickly spread after Diabel's speech. He took it in stride, using the opportunity to try and inspire a sense of camaraderie. "Well, I'm glad to see we all feel the same way about this. Now, let's figure out _how_ we're gonna beat the boss. I think it'd be best if we grouped up into raid-sized parties of six for this. Just one party on its own wouldn't stand a chance against the boss, but if we can manage a full raid group – or as close to one as we can," he amended, noting the number of players, "I think we can do this."

There was a brief change in the atmosphere as the gathered players switched from listening to talking, attempting to form parties as quickly as possible. Ash and Serena turned to Argo in order to ask if she wanted to party with them, but the info broker had disappeared. They continued looking around, but most of the players had already – no wait, the hooded girl from earlier still wasn't in a party yet! They quickly made their way over, noticing that Kirito had come to the same realization. "You guys got left out too?" he asked, sitting down a respectable distance away from the girl.

"Not really." she responded. "I figured 'everybody else has enough friends for a party so why bother intruding?' I've done well enough on my own so far, too…"

"But didn't you hear what Diabel said?" Serena interjected. "This fight's gonna be a lot harder, so it'd be best to fight as a group – and one group of four can do a lot more than two groups of two. Besides, us girls oughtta look out for each other, right?"

"Plus, it doesn't have to be for any longer than this battle." Kirito added. "After this, you can solo to your heart's content."

After a few seconds of silent deliberation, the girl agreed and Kirito sent them all party invitations. Once they accepted, the HP gauges and names of all the other party members appeared in the upper left corner of each person's HUD. _So her username's Asuna…_ Kirito thought, preparing to introduce himself properly. Before he could, Diabel interrupted again.

"All right, it looks like everyone's teamed up. Now then –"

 _"Hold up a sec!"_ a previously unknown voice interjected loudly as one of the five players who had teamed up with Diabel made his way to the front. "My name's Kibaou, got that? Now, before we take on the boss I want to make something clear. You know about the 2,000 people who died already, right? Well, some of you need to apologize to 'em right now!"

 _I guess this is what Kirito was talking about earlier…_ Ash thought as Diabel asked the Cacnea-haired man if he was talking about the ex-beta testers. _At least this way we can say something without implicating Kirito._

"Of course I mean them!" Kibaou ranted. "The day this stupid game started, they just up and vanished on us, right? They ditched all us beginners – stealing all the good hunting spots and easy quests before we had a chance! _They_ were the only ones getting stronger, while we were stuck in the noob zones!"

"That's not true!" Ash yelled back, causing Kirito to glance at him nervously. "One of them helped me and my friend learn how to play the game – and neither of us had played any virtual reality games before. We might not have survived if not for him!"

Unfortunately, that did not convince Kibaou. "Sorry, kid, but one out of a thousand doesn't really change anything. Besides, where is he now?" When Ash failed to come up with a satisfactory answer that did not draw attention to Kirito (though Kibaou didn't know of the second requirement), he smirked. "Exactly my point. They're too ashamed to show their faces in public, but I say that changes now! They should come out and apologize publically for all the deaths they cause – or better yet, give us all the money and items they got from ditching us! How can we expect to trust them if they won't trust us, huh?"

"Can I say something?" a third person cut in, his voice holding a no-nonsense tone that suggested experience dealing with belligerent people. The owner of the voice stood up, revealing a tall, broad-shouldered man with an appearance to match his voice. Rather than having the same light skin as the people around him, he possessed a complexion Ash only recalled encountering in Unova (and possibly the tropical archipelagos) – but that difference only added to his presence. "You said your name was Kibaou, right? Mine's Agil. I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. You said the ex-betas should be held accountable for the rookies' deaths because they didn't help, and so they should apologize and give up all their winnings, is that it? Did I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't." Kibaou answered testily, wondering where Agil was going with this. He was soon answered when the axe-wielder produced a small leather-bound book.

"Even without taking what that young man said into account, this still causes a problem for your argument. This guidebook," Agil said, holding it aloft, "contains information and strategies about how to survive the game, and even instructions about how to find and complete some of the quests. The first edition was completely free, and the subsequent editions for each new area have been cheap enough that anyone who gets that far should easily be able to afford one."

"And… your point is?"

"How do you think they went up for sale so quickly after the areas opened? Nobody had time to explore the areas, which suggests that the beta-testers helped get this information out. In fact, the latest edition – which the merchants here have been giving away for free – specifically says 'this information came from the beta, so be wary of changes.' And why would they warn us about changes for no reason? I get the feeling the ex-betas didn't get off as scot-free as you claim." Turning back to the crowd, he added, "My point is, everyone had equal access to this information, but not everyone chose to utilize it. I didn't come here to blame anyone for the deaths, I came here to learn from their mistakes and use that knowledge to help beat the game. After all, isn't beating the boss the entire purpose of this meeting?" He cast a meaningful look at Kibaou, who returned to his seat in a huff, and then sat down himself.

"Alright, can we get back to the meeting now?" Diabel said, stilling his tapping foot. "As I was getting ready to say, the latest edition of the Players' Guidebook you just heard about is available from NPC vendors all over town. This edition, however, contains information about the first boss, Illfang the Kobold Lord." A few surprised gasps rang out from within the crowd, and some of the players seemed torn between staying to listen and going to get their own copy. Their dilemma was soon solved when Argo reappeared with an armful of the books and dumped them on the end of one of the seats, catching the bag of col Diabel tossed her with a free hand.

 _Oh, so that's where Argo went…_ Ash realized as those who didn't have the guidebooks retrieved one and sat back down. _Diabel must have hired her to make sure everybody at this meeting got a guidebook._ Opening his own, which he and Serena had picked up during their lunch, he turned to the section that talked about Illfang as the blue-haired knight began reading again.

[Illfang has four HP bars, and as these deplete he summons Ruin Kobold Sentinels in four groups of three to defend himself. His attack patterns will vary throughout the fight, so relying on predictability is not advised. Illfang begins the fight wielding an axe and a buckler, but when his final health bar turns red he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar and becomes more aggressive. At this point, he must be taken down quickly.]

Diabel closed the book with a _thoonk_ , attracting attention once again. "That's it for the briefing; if you want specifics, they're on the following pages. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally, the party that defeats the boss will get the XP, and items go to the person they drop for. Any objections?" When none came, he gave his final announcement. "All right then, we leave at 10:00 in the morning. Squad assignment will be based on party stats, so make sure you have all the equipment you need. Meeting adjourned!" The players quickly filtered out of the theater to prepare, a cloaked Asuna among them.

"Well, she didn't waste any time." Kirito commented. "I get the feeling we shouldn't either. C'mon, let's go."

* * *

A few hours later, after having introduced Asuna to the wonders that buttercream performed to cheap bread, the group found themselves at the second-floor farmhouse room Kirito had rented out. Asuna was in taking the bath she had all but demanded, while Kirito was discussing combat styles with the other two.

"So you chose Acrobatics and Battle Healing for your other two available Skill Slots?" he asked Serena, who was sitting on the edge of the bed in the adjoining room.

"Yep! Just because I'm stuck inside a computer doesn't mean I can't still come up with new routines, and dodging more gives me more time to heal."

Kirito chuckled. "That's a very optimistic outlook – I wish I had some of your confidence. Due in no small part to your companion, I'm guessing?"

"Hey, she does just as much to keep me optimistic as I do for her!" Ash interjected from his own seat on the couch. "If one of us starts feeling down, it's the other one's job to remind them to not give up 'til it's over!"

The way that phrase slipped so easily from his lips left Kirito curious. "Is that, like, your motto or something?"

"It has been ever since we started traveling together." Ash admitted. "And I wouldn't trade that time for anything." Before Kirito could ask for any more information, a set of taps on the door drew everyone's attention. At first they thought it might be the landlady, but the rhythm seemed too irregular – short, long, short, pause, long, short, pause, long, and repeat.

 _Oh, that must be Argo,_ the ex-beta realized, getting up and opening the door. If Ash and Serena hadn't been there he would have been worried about the broker knowing Asuna was there, but as it was the thought didn't cross his mind. "Making house calls now, are we?" he joked as he opened the door. "Such a rare occasion – I don't know whether to feel honored or apprehensive."

"Depends what you think of the latest offer on your sword." Argo riposted smoothly, slipping under his arm and stealing his spot on the couch. Shaking his head with a grin at her audacity, he closed the door and walked over to the wagon in the corner to pour her a glass of milk like he had for Ash and Serena. "You better not be putting any sleeping potions or anything in there," she said suspiciously. "That'd be a breach of hospitality, and you know word will get out if that happens…"

"You don't see anything happening to those two, do you? Besides, we're still in the town's Safe Zone – I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to."

Satisfied that he had no ulterior motives, she drained the glass before kicking her feet up into the spot Ash had vacated to dispose of his empty cup, forcing him to sit next to Serena. "You know, you could make a killing off this. I bet people would pay good money for a glass of milk – and you get an unlimited amount basically for free!"

"Does everything have to be about marketing with you?" Kirito shot back. "Besides, that won't work. If I take it out of the farmhouse, it basically turns into chunky goop after five minutes. And speaking of free, what possessed you to lower the price on the guidebook? Won't that eat into your profits?"

"Probably for the same reason I recognized your teaching style in the first edition's combat section." Ash answered him. "You knew you had to do something to help, and you figured that would be the furthest-reaching use of your talents, right?"

Argo snickered, but Serena could tell he had hit very close to the mark. "A very perceptive suggestion. Are you sure you don't want to work for me instead? I promise there's never a dull moment…"

"Life's _never_ dull when Ash is around." Serena told Argo, a fond gleam in her eyes (which did not go unnoticed). "Besides, I think he'd go stir-crazy if he didn't battle regularly, right?"

"Hey, I've gotten better about that!" he protested. "Ramos reminded me about the value of relaxing when I visited his Gym, remember? If I _don't_ take breaks sometimes, I won't be at the top of my game, and so I won't be able to make sure you stay safe…"

The sound of a clearing throat interrupted him. "I hate to break up you two's moment, but I've got business to do and clients to aggressively negotiate with – so let's get this over with. Kirito, Mr. X says he (or she, you won't know unless you outbid them) is willing to pay 39,800 col for your Anneal Blade +6."

Kirito was dumbstruck. "Almost _forty thousand?_ For that much, you could just as easily buy a basic Anneal Blade and enhance it to +6 on your own!"

"I know, and I said that multiple times, but Mr. X was adamant. I don't understand it either – and believe me, that's hard for me to admit. I take it this means you're still not selling?"

"Not on your life." Kirito answered. "No matter how high they raise the price. To me, it's not just a sword. It's a reminder to not be overconfident, that even I could die if I let my guard down."

"Well, thankfully for you, this was their last offer, so I won't be bothering you anymore. How about you, Serena? Is yours still on the table?"

"Umm… 200 col for the answer?" the performer asked jokingly, attempting to mimic Argo's response strategy. This earned a dismissive chuckle from the Rat, and she immediately discarded that line of response. "Yeah, it is. It's not like I can use it with my current strategy, anyways."

"Great!" Argo replied, closing her PM window and opening a trade screen to receive the sword. "In a short while, you should be 25,600 col richer. Would you like to find out who you sold it to for 1500?"

"Even if she doesn't, I will." As he spoke the words, Kirito grimaced. "I hate spending that much col, but it'll bug me to no end if I can't figure out why someone would pay so much for my sword." A short discussion soon ensued, at the end of which each of the three party members contributed 500 to the fund. After another PM exchange, the deal was done and Argo pocketed the money. "So what was his name?" Kirito asked.

"You already know his name, Ki~bou…" she answered. "In fact, he made a big deal about you remembering it when he caused that scene earlier at the Strategy Meeting."

Kirito immediately made the connection. "Wait, it was Kibaou? That cactus-headed dude? I guess that explains why he looked at me funny when I came in – he recognized my sword!"

"Either that or he thought you were a beta tester and wanted to take your most powerful weapon for himself." Ash suggested, having remembered Team Rocket's explanations about why they wanted Pikachu. "Joke's on him, though. Serena doesn't even use a sword any more, and she's not a beta tester either. I wonder what his face will look like tomorrow when he finds out…"

"And speaking of tomorrow, we probably ought to get to bed so that we can get up on time." Kirito pointed out, laying out a Bedroll next to the sofa. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Argo said she still had business tonight, so we shouldn't keep her waiting."

"I totally agree." Argo said, moving towards the closed door and placing a hand on the knob. "Just give me a sec to change into my nighttime gear and I'll be on my way."

 _But why would she want to change in the hallway?_ Kirito wondered before noticing the plaque next to the doorframe. _Wait, that's not the exit door – that's the…_ A shriek erupted from the bathroom as the Rat scurried inside, and he quickly jumped into the bedroll and squeezed his eyes shut to avoid Asuna mistaking him for a pervert. Over the sound of Ash sawing logs on the sofa (he envied how quickly and deeply Ash had managed to fall asleep) he could hear Asuna yelling angrily at Argo, who was replying in her typical teasing fashion, and Serena trying to mediate. Before he could discern whether or not she was succeeding, he discovered that even in a Safe Zone, being hit in the forehead with a high-speed bar of soap can, in fact, inflict you with the Unconscious status.

From then until the next morning, all he could sense was blackness.

* * *

At 10:30 AM, the raid group departed Tolbana to confront the Boss. Kirito's party, being the smallest, was delegated to rear-guard duty, to ensure that the tank and DPS groups could focus on Illfang. Kibaou had seemed especially smug when passing on the information, his barely concealed ire confirming that he suspected Kirito of being a beta-tester.

Curiously, though, the cactus-headed swordsman still had the same equipment as yesterday, which left Kirito confused. Why spend 25,000 col on a sword that you weren't even going to use? Ash and Serena had noticed too, distracting them from the teasing comment they had planned to make. Something didn't add up, and it bothered Kirito for the majority of the trip – until he was shaken from his musings by a question from Asuna.

"What's a Switch?" she asked as Ash reviewed their strategy.

The beta-tester turned to face her. "Okay, level with me. Is this your first time playing in a party?" When she responded with an affirmative grunt, it caused him to freeze in shock for a couple of seconds before he hurried to catch up again. _I can understand the people in the Starting City not having partied up before, but a player of frontline-level?_ "Anyway, you know about Sword Skills, right? Those are called System Skills, since the Cardinal System helps you to perform them. Switching, on the other hand, is an Outside System Skill, since Kayaba didn't directly program it in.

"It takes advantage of the Post-Motion Freezing that comes after using Sword Skills, but requires multiple players working together. The first uses their own Sword Skill to parry the opponent's, and then the other player attacks while both of them are frozen. Later on in the game, a player with a high enough Parry skill *might* be able to perform a solo version by using lower-leveled Sword Skills to deflect, but for now it needs a party to pull it off."

Asuna took this in stoically, facial expressions shrouded by her hood. "Right. So wait for you to block and freeze, then aim for the squishy parts?"

"Pretty much, yeah." They entered the labyrinth, and talk immediately dropped to a minimum as they focused on picking off any respawning mobs that might follow the group. When they arrived at the Safe Zone in front of the boss room, they saw the other players scattered around eating the rations they had brought and equipping potions and such for easy access.

"Better take the time to rest up and focus yourselves." Diabel informed them as they entered. "We start the raid at the crack of 2:30."

* * *

Omake: An Unproductive Meeting

* * *

 _Oh, so that's where Argo went…_ Ash realized as those who didn't have the guidebooks retrieved one and sat back down. _Diabel must have hired her to make sure everybody at this meeting got a guidebook._ Opening his own, which he and Serena had picked up during their lunch, he turned to the section that talked about Illfang as the blue-haired knight began reading again.

"Illfang has four HP bars, and as these deplete he summons Ruin Kobold Sentinels in four groups of three to defend himself. His attack patterns will vary throughout the fight, so relying on predictability is not advised. Illfang begins the fight wielding an axe and a buckler, but when his final health bar turns red he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar and becomes more aggressive. At this point, you must initiate the strategy known as the Final Solutiooooooooooooooooooookay, who vandalized my guidebook?"

Serena caught a flash of _I-can't-believe-that-worked_ from Kibaou before he jumped up again. "I bet it was one of them stinkin' beta-testers tryin' to get us new guys out of the picture! And they would have gotten away with it too if we hadn't been here to set people straight…"

As he continued ranting, Ash's shoulders slumped slightly, causing Serena to ask what was wrong. "He didn't say anything about meddling kids." Ash complained, popping a bone-shaped graham cracker into his mouth. "I feel like he passed up a golden opportunity there…"


	6. Chapter 5

**.**

 **"Beater"/The First Boss Fight**

(EP02/"Aria" Part 2)

* * *

 **Note: Had extra writing time thanks to wisdom tooth removal necessitating bed-rest, so here's a bonus chapter for today!**

At 2:25, the assembled players put away their extra supplies and lined up by squad facing the door. Once they had done so, Diabel marched forward and turned to address them one last time. "All right, listen up." he said, jabbing his sword into a crack between the stones. "I've just got one more thing to say to you. Let's win!" As the raid group cheered in assent, he sheathed his sword and pushed open the boss room doors to reveal a large, darkened hall.

At the other end, a hulking silhouette with glowing red eyes loomed menacingly – discernible to players who had trained Searching as Illfang on his throne. It was not until they reached the middle of the room, however, that the room lit up, revealing an almost disorienting rainbow pattern on the walls.

Pushing himself up from his seat, the enormous red kobold leaped off the dais and roared menacingly. Several players almost lost their nerve at this point, but bravely stood their ground. Ash, on the other hand, couldn't stop himself from snickering under his breath as his brain compared Illfang to a Grumpig-Krookodile hybrid on steroids – but with the head of a regular-sized Mightyena instead. The armored Sentinels then spawned, forcing him to re-focus. As they charged, he attempted to consciously access his Aura to help guide him through the oncoming fight. This nearly led to a serious injury, as he ended up _too_ inwardly focused and almost had his head bashed in by one of the Sentinels' maces.

"Keep your head in the fight!" Kirito admonished him, knocking the mace out of the way with a Sword Skill just in time. "We're supposed to be giving those two openings to attack the Sentinels, not letting them attack us!"

Asuna took advantage of the Sentinel's temporary paralysis to jab it in the throat with her rapier, followed by Serena slipping behind and slashing at its unprotected mace hand when it focused on the one who had dealt it damage. Its hand reflexively opened, causing it to drop the mace, and it swiped at Asuna with its other claw while trying to mule-kick Serena with one of its armored legs. Serena gracefully danced out of the way, whereas Asuna took the more straightforward approach of impaling its other palm as it swung towards her. At the same time, Ash and Kirito swept in with their own Sword Skills – one high, one low, knocking its head forward and its balancing foot back. Overbalanced, it toppled onto its armored face, where they quickly dispatched its remaining HP.

"Nice job." Kirito congratulated them, glancing over to where squads D and E were each fighting their own Sentinel. "If I hadn't already known, I would never have suspected that none of you have played VRMMOs before. Keep this up and we might actually be able to help fight Illfang himself!"

As if he had heard Kirito's words, Kibaou shouted, "You there – squad F! Take over for squad E so they can switch to DPS!" His voice carried a mix of grudging respect at how quickly they had taken down their target and _stupid-beta-testers_ resentment, but since he had unofficially been appointed manager of the Sentinel squads they could not ignore it. "I'm keeping my eye on you…" he spat when they switched out with the other group. Unfortunately, it was hard for them to take his threat seriously when the Sentinel re-evaluated its Hate Table and swung its mace upwards at Kibaou, causing him to leap backwards with an undignified yelp.

The two groups finished off their respective Sentinels almost simultaneously, just in time for a new set of three to spawn after Illfang's first HP bar depleted. Kirito half-expected squad E to be recalled, but Kibaou ordered them to stay on the boss. _Does he really expect to be able to take on three boss minions with only two groups?_ he wondered, before Kibaou ordered him to split his already-small group in two (ostensibly because they were strong enough to handle it, but likely to make it as hard for him as possible) to hold off the armored kobolds.

Recognizing the synergy between Kirito and Asuna (and also wanting to stay with Ash), Serena elected to partner with her fellow Trainer during the split. The next few moments were a rush of _be careful Ash thanks for the opening flow into the swipe sidestep duck swirling strike here comes another dodge vault go for the weak point slide underneath wait it's over?_ Shaking her head to clear it, she saw Kibaou's group dispatching the last of the twelve Sentinels just as Illfang's last HP bar hit the red. Casting aside his axe and buckler, he reached down to unsheathe the other massive weapon tied to his waist.

"All right, this last part's gonna take careful coordination!" Diabel announced, manipulating his menu and materializing a very familiar sword. "Which is why I'm just gonna do it myself!" The Anneal Blade +4 he was holding began shining with the light of a Sword Skill, causing a variety of thoughts to race through the minds of the assembled players. For the majority of them, it was just _why isn't he sticking to the plan_ , but Serena was thinking _I thought Kibaou bought that sword, so why does Diabel have it,_ and Ash, who had finally managed to connect to the pulse of Aura, was busy trying to figure out where the feeling of impending disaster was focused.

Kirito, however, had realized exactly what the danger was. "Diabel, wait! That's a different weapon – it's got a different set of skills!" he called, having identified Illfang's weapon as a Nodachi, not a talwar.

Kibaou flashed a triumphant _I-knew-it_ look in his direction when he heard that, but Diabel jerked slightly, eyes widening in surprise. Unfortunately, that stance change was only enough to partially cancel his attack, and the System Assist dragged him forward into the open space in front of the boss. "Oh, shoo-"

* * *

Illfang used Dual Chop. It was super effective!

* * *

"No – Diabel!" Kibaou yelled as the blue-haired warrior was sent flying. He seemed to be on the verge of saying something else, but nobody could blame him for losing his voice when an oversized kobold was roaring in his face from about two feet away.

"You two protect them – Asuna and I will help Diabel!" Kirito ordered, digging through his pockets for a healing potion as he ran.

 _Ash wouldn't hesitate to do whatever he could to help, so I can't either!_ Serena thought as she and Ash raced over to try and help the players who were frozen in fear. Her hand automatically strayed to her belt to retrieve one of her Pokéballs, only to remember that her belt was empty – no wait, she still had her dagger! Throwing it as hard as she could, she willed it to cross the distance with as much focus as she could spare. For a few seconds, it almost felt as if she was _pushing_ it with her mind as it tumbled end over end –

The projectile struck true, burying itself in Illfang's face and attracting his ire. He tore it out and cast it aside, eyes flashing red as he barreled towards them, ignoring the other players in his path. His nodachi began glowing with the light of a Sword Skill, and Ash stepped in front of her, the words _dodge now, Serena!_ screaming in his mind. As she instinctively responded, equipping her spare dagger, Ash listened to the guiding pulse he felt and positioned his sword as if attacking the waves of malice he felt radiating from Illfang – activating a Sword Skill that allowed him to redirect Illfang's attack at a nearby column. A large purple [Immortal Object] warning popped up, producing a knockback effect and extending the duration of Illfang's Stunned status by an additional 1.5 seconds.

Kirito and Asuna were waiting for him like a pair of vengeful spirits, assaulting him with a flurry of strikes that knocked off a quarter of his remaining HP. A glancing blow from his nodachi depleted the remainder of her cloak's durability, allowing her long chestnut locks to blow freely. Unfortunately, Kirito let his curiosity get the better of him and risked a glance at her now cloakless appearance, which he paid for by falling prey to Illfang's follow-up strike. Rather than changing focus back to Ash and Serena, though, Illfang continued chasing Kirito and Asuna, nodachi held high for the coup de grace.

Agil, the bald warrior from the meeting, chose that time to intervene. Swinging his axe with all his might, he managed to knock the boss's weapon to the side far enough that it only hit the floor. "You guys recover. We'll hold him off 'til your health's back up." The other players following him swarmed past, besieging Illfang from all sides.

That turned out to be another mistake, as the boss performed a 360-degree spin attack enabled by his new weapon, jumping up to the ceiling for another strike once he recovered. Unwilling to allow that, Ash channeled as much Aura as he could into his legs and _jumped_ , holding his sword sideways so that the momentum of his Sword Skill would translate to knockback rather than damage and push Illfang away from the players clustered beneath him. As he hit the ground and rolled to bleed off momentum, he noted with relief that the Aura signatures of the players were still as bright as ever.

The wall brought an abrupt stop to both his roll and his celebration, causing Serena to rush over to him in concern. "I'm fine." he reassured her as she helped him up. "And from the looks of it, they're better than fine." He drank a health potion, watching Kirito and Asuna fight together wordlessly to empty the last dregs of Illfang's HP. The two of them were like a well-oiled machine, battle styles meshing seamlessly within seconds where his and Serena's had taken days to synchronize. The openings that Kirito provided, Asuna exploited – and the distractions that she provided, he took full advantage of. In a way, it was almost disappointing when Kirito's final strike caused Illfang to erupt into a shower of polygons.

After a few seconds of silence, a giant [Congratulations!] banner appeared, and a wave of applause spread throughout the room. Whether it was a celebration of Illfang's death and the resulting rewards or appreciation of the spectacle they had just witnessed, none of them knew for sure. Kirito himself did not have the energy to celebrate, having thrown all his energy into that last assault, and so settled for viewing his rewards with a feeling of accomplishment. The next window that popped up dulled that sense somewhat, though.

[Congratulations! You got the Last Attack bonus!]

Rather than stirring up pride, it only reminded Kirito of Diabel. _All that effort to lower my chances so you could get the last attack, and it goes to me anyway…_

"That was awesome!" Ash congratulated him, walking up behind with Serena, Asuna, and Agil.

"Yeah, nice job." Asuna echoed. Thanks to working with him, she had a new appreciation for battling – and a new resolve to focus her efforts on clearing, not just exhaust herself fighting endless respawns.

Even though he had been in a different party, it appeared Agil felt similarly. "That was some fine swordsmanship - congratulations." he complimented. "Today's victory is all thanks to you." Another round of applause followed Agil's statement, only this time directed at Kirito.

 _But the rest of my party did just as much_ , he wanted to protest, opening his mouth to say so. Before he could, though, another voice cut through the air.

"STOP CHEERING!" Kibaou yelled, anger evident in his voice. "Why'd you do it?" he asked in the ensuing silence. "Why'd you let Diabel die?"

"Let him die?..."

"That's what I said! You knew it was a different weapon, so why didn't you say anything earlier? If you had, Diabel wouldn't have died!"

Though his argument rested on the flimsy presupposition that Kirito had known the whole time, it was enough to sow the seeds of doubt in people's minds. "Come to think of it, how did he counter the boss's attacks so easily?" another questioned. "It's like he knew exactly what he was going to do!"

"He must've been a beta-tester!" a third surmised, bringing the issue from the meeting back to light. "Why else would he have kept that knowledge to himself this whole time? Come to think of it, how do we know he's not the only one here? C'mon, show yourselves!"

Ash and Serena were having a hard time understanding what was going on. Kirito had just saved the other players' lives and obviously felt regret for not saving Diabel's, and now they hated him? And even worse, they were trying to bring the other betas into it? To hate an entire group of people based on what they _thought_ one person did?

Agil tried to keep the crowd reasonable, but by this point the suspicion was too high for him to defuse. This did have the effect of focusing their vision on him, though, and so only Ash and Serena saw Kirito gulp nervously before a look of resolve flashed in his eyes – one that Ash remembered seeing when a crystal flower had offered him a glimpse of a past hero. _He's gonna sacrifice his own reputation in the other players' eyes to stop this before it can cause any real damage!_ he realized as Kirito's laugh began echoing throughout the chamber.

"So you think I used to be a beta tester, huh?" Kirito asked acidically, pushing himself to his feet. "Honestly, I'm ashamed you consider those noobs anywhere near as good as me."

Kibaou couldn't believe his ears. "What'd you say?" he asked, offended by the arrogance Kirito was projecting to mask his regret.

"You heard me. Most of the 1,000 players who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies – they were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Even _you_ guys are better than they were." He began walking through the crowd, which parted to give him a wide berth. "But me? I'm _nothing_ like those guys. I reached a higher floor than anyone else during the beta – and _that's_ how I knew the boss's attacks. In fact, I know things that not even the info brokers do, likely more than _all_ of them _combined_." As he said that, he internally winced, knowing he would get an earful from Argo later.

"If that's true, then you're worse than a beta tester!" Kibaou responded, pointing angrily at him. "You're just a straight-up cheater, that's what you are!"

As murmurs of agreement spread throughout the crowd, Serena turned to Ash. "I don't get it – why is he acting like that? I know he's not that kind of person…"

Ash did his best to put it into terms she would understand, keeping his voice down so they wouldn't be overheard. "It's kind of like the tag battle strategy where one person puts their own Pokémon in the way of all the oncoming attacks so the others can work together to attack without worrying about defense. Basically, he's making himself the target so they won't be."

Kirito's next words proved his point. "Beater, huh? I like the sound of that. Okay, you can call me a beater – just make sure you don't get me confused with those useless beta testers anymore." To punctuate his statement, he equipped the Coat of Midnight that he had gained from the Last Attack Bonus before wordlessly walking up the steps behind Illfang's throne.

Something was still bugging Asuna, though, and she followed him to try and figure it out. "Wait!" she called, causing him to halt on the last few steps. "During the fight, you called me by my name – but I never told it to you."

"Why are you concerned? Did I mess up the pronunciation or something?"

"You said it right, but how did you even _know_ it in the first place?"

"Sorry, I forgot you didn't know. When you're in a party, your teammates' HP bars and names are shown underneath your own."

Asuna looked, and sure enough, there they were. "So which one are you, Kirito or Satoshi?"

"Look for the one with the party leader icon – that's me."

"Oh, right." A few seconds later, she stifled a giggle. "Sorry Kirito, I feel stupid for not noticing that."

"Don't be sorry. You have amazing potential, especially to make it as far as you did solo. Just remember: being a solo player can only take you so far. When the time comes, if someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn them down."

Asuna didn't miss the irony in that statement. "But aren't _you_ playing solo?" she asked, confused. Kirito declined to answer, instead dissolving the party and walking through the massive doors in front of him.

Downstairs, Ash and Serena noticed the party's HP gauges vanishing. "I hope he knows what he's doing…" Serena breathed as the assembled players finally began to migrate towards the second floor.

* * *

Omake: Kibaou is Not a Lawyer

* * *

"STOP CHEERING!" Kibaou yelled, anger evident in his voice. "Why'd you do it?" he asked in the ensuing silence. "Why'd you let Diabel die?"

"Let him die?..."

"That's what I said! You knew it was a different weapon, so why didn't you say anything earlier? If you had, Diabel wouldn't have died!"

Almost immediately, another voice cut in with a loud "OBJECTION!" A man with a blue business suit and gravity-defying porcupinesque hairdo made his way to the front of the crowd. "The defense calls Illfang to the stand!" The players cried out in terror as Illfang respawned, and a few attempted to attack, only to be rebuffed by a purple hexagon reading [Witness Testimony]. The man continued speaking, undeterred. "Could the accused have realistically given his warning any sooner than he did?"

"Negative." the massive kobold responded in a surprisingly chipper computer monotone. "Next question?"

"HOLD IT! Would you care to elaborate on that statement?"

Illfang's eyes flashed binary for a few seconds. "Exactly 1.623 seconds elapsed between when the nature of my new weapon was revealed and when he gave the warning. It is highly unlikely that the defendant would have been able to formulate and relay a warning any more quickly than he did."

"Thank you. As for the deceased, did he or did he not act in a manner unsuited to taking on a Floor Boss by declaring his intent to charge in alone?"

In response, Illfang played back the audio of Diabel announcing "I'm just gonna do it myself!"

As Kibaou made a strangled _why-is-this-_ happening noise in the background, the man nodded sharply, satisfied that he had proved his point. "The defense rests its case."


	7. Chapter 6

**.**

 **Of Extra Skills and Eccentric Sensei**

(Based on "The Reason For the Whiskers")

* * *

For the next several days, the central town of Urbus was a veritable flood of activity as players from the Starting City poured out of the second-floor Teleport Gate. The nearby enemies were somewhat more powerful than the boars on the first floor, but for those who had been willing to venture out and fight beforehand it was not as large a jump in difficulty.

Unfortunately, this massive influx of new players made it difficult to find an unoccupied spot to level up near the town, and a safe route to the next city had not yet been verified. A couple of times, Ash and Serena had been fortunate enough to come across Klein and his friends, who allowed them to join their farming parties, but for the most part they were stuck wandering around looking for unclaimed mob spawns. They had also checked Kirito's location on their map once or twice, but he was further south than any of the towns listed in Argo's Second-Floor Strategy Guide.

At first they assumed he had gone to complete a quest, but when his cursor did not move for almost three days they decided to go check up on him. After a couple minutes of southward walking, however, they came across a cliff easily two and a half times their height, maybe more. Ash considered calling Goodra out to have him boost them up – but no, they were too close to the town. After the climbing wall in the Cyllage Gym, he wasn't worried about making his own way up; Serena, however, had never had his Mankey-level climbing skills. So how could she reach the top if she couldn't climb or jump that… high…

Wait, that was it! She might not be able to jump all the way up on her own, but if he gave her a boost, the Acrobatics skill should give her the necessary height to reach the top. Thankful that he had decided on Extended Weight Limit for his third Skill Slot, he turned to her with a grin. "I got it! Use me as a platform to jump as high as you can, and I'll try and give you a boost too – that should let you reach the top."

"But what about you?" she asked, imagining herself at the top with him stuck at the bottom.

"I'll be fine. Remember the Cyllage Gym? That wall was a lot higher than this one is." Bending down slightly, he tensed his arms above his head. "Besides, Kirito might be stuck somewhere and need help. If I fall, I'll just get up and try again!"

Bolstered by his words, Serena retreated a few steps before vaulting off his improvised springboard and landing sprawled at the top, having barely cleared the lip. Pushing herself up, she made her way to the edge to observe Ash's progress. "I messed up the landing, but I'm okay!" she called down as he began his ascent. It was slightly slower going than the climbing wall at the Gym, since the hand- and foot-holds weren't brightly colored plastic, but he still made good time, only requiring about fifteen seconds to catch his breath at the top.

Continuing on, they kept their eyes peeled for a path leading further south. What they found instead was their – surprisingly unharmed – quarry emerging from a small cave and flicking water out of his hair. "Wait, what are you guys doing here?" the beta-tester asked, confusion evident in his eyes. _I thought Argo said she was keeping this a secret…_

"Your cursor didn't move for about three days, so we got worried…" Serena informed him. "So wait, if you weren't in trouble, why were you there for so long?"

As Kirito tried to figure out a way to respond without violating Argo's non-disclosure agreement, his hands absently came up to rub his cheeks where the painted-on whiskers had just recently been, hoping all the ink was gone.

His two former protégés misinterpreted this action, coming to a different (though still correct) conclusion. "Lemme guess, Argo swore you to secrecy? Don't worry, we won't bother you about it anymore." Relief washed over Kirito – until they walked past him and entered the cave themselves. "We'll just find out for ourselves. You finished it on your own, so it should be no problem for two people, right?"

Unable to hold back a smile at Ash's enthusiasm, the black-coated swordsman turned and walked towards the cliff. _Good luck completing_ that _quest; it's harder than you might expect._

* * *

After the darkness of the cave, it took a few seconds for the two trainers' eyes to adjust to sunlight again. There had been a few minor enemies that spawned in the corridor once they were forced to leave the river, but compared to the Kobold Sentinels they were barely a nuisance. _I suppose the seclusion, not the enemies, is why this place is so hard to find,_ Ash thought as the clearing came into focus.

There were only four points of interest: the small spring-fed pond, the small hut and garden beside it, the solitary tree, and the gigantic boulder at the edge with a crack running down the middle. Down in the garden, an unknown figure sat in a meditative pose, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. As soon as they noticed him, however, he waved them forward without even turning to look at them.

The sun glinted off his bald head as they approached, partially obscuring the golden question mark that identified him as a quest NPC. Before they could say anything, he held up a hand to forestall them. Opening his eyes, he turned to lock his gaze with each of them in turn. "I sense a fighting aura deep within you, but it lacks focus. And you – you have potential of a different kind. But to train the mind, you must also train the body. Do the two of you agree to follow my instructions in this matter? The path will be long and steep, but through perseverance you will surpass your previous limits."

 _This must be the quest Kirito was doing_ , Serena realized as Ash, never one to turn down a challenge, eagerly accepted. Her mother's encouragement to _go for broke_ echoed in her mind, and she nodded firmly. "I'll do it."

"Then follow me." the NPC instructed, standing up and walking around the house. Coming to a halt next to the boulder, he rapped it with his knuckles. "Your first task: to break the boulder without using weapons."

The old man's mention of 'fighting aura' a minute or two before resurfaced in Ash's mind. _Wait a minute – Rock-type is weak to Fighting-type, and moves like Aura Sphere and Force Palm are Fighting-type!_ He attempted to focus Aura into his hand, which was much harder when he wasn't in danger, though not impossible. A blue sheen covered his hand as he thrust his palm straight at the rock, the Fighting-type energy exploding outwards as the impact jarred his focus.

Thanks to the super effective damage, the rock split evenly in half, causing surprise to momentarily flash in the NPC's eyes. "An adequate first attempt." he finally said. "But you waited too long to strike. Effective against an inanimate object, but a living opponent can predict your moves. For now, you must repeat this task until you can perform it instantaneously." Turning to the boulder, he performed a precise series of strikes that knocked off a set of differently-sized slabs, then carried them over to a crevice in the cliff with notches in it. He placed the thinnest slab in the notches and faced Serena. "Your task is to break through these slabs on your own, from the thinnest to the thickest. Once the two of you have managed these tasks, I shall teach you more techniques."

 _Oh, this must be an Unarmed Combat quest!_ Ash realized. "I'm guessing your previous student was the first one to break the boulder?"

"Yes, he was the first to complete the requirements for removing the Mark."

"What's 'the Mark'?" Serena questioned, causing an almost malicious look of anticipation in the man's eyes. Reaching into the pocket of his garment, he pulled out a writing brush and a pot of ink – and then, almost too fast for them to track, drew something on each of their faces.

"Until you complete your training, the Mark of Students cannot be removed." The NPC stowed the items back away and began walking back to the hut. "This shall be your focus during the afternoon. Mornings, we will meet in the garden to train the mind."

A minute or two passed, the two of them unable to do anything but blink as they processed the information. "Well, that was weird…" Serena finally commented.

"Eh, I think I've probably seen weirder." Ash responded, turning to face her. When he caught sight of her face, he started snickering.

"What? What's so funny?"

"Those whiskers make you look sort of like a Dewott." he explained. "I guess we know where Argo's came from now."

"You're one to talk, Mr. Dedenne." she shot back, unable to hold back a laugh herself. As she spoke, the mixture of seriousness and adorableness on her face further cemented the Dewott image in his mind. "You gonna Nuzzle that rock to death now?"

"I don't know, wouldn't it be more effective against a water-type like a Dewott?" he countered, advancing on her with a playful smile. "Maybe I should do it to you instead…"

Her face immediately turned crimson, and she turned away to hide her blush. "Aren't we wasting time I mean we need to get this done so we can get out of here so shouldn't we get to it?" She threw a punch at the first slab, channeling her embarrassment into the swing. It broke about half a millimeter before her knuckles hit, but neither of them noticed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ash answered, turning back to his own task. As he continued attacking the rock, he couldn't help but wonder why she had responded so oddly to his statement.

* * *

Several days passed, during which they let out their Pokémon to train themselves. Whenever Ash ran out of large boulders, Pikachu and Frogadier worked together to dislodge a new one from the cliffs above, and Goodra rolled it into place so that Ash could continue the task he had been assigned. Serena, who did not have the benefit of Aura to increase her damage, was on the seventh out of ten slabs, unable to make a dent no matter how hard she attacked.

She refused to give up, though, unwilling to leave Ash to go through it alone. "Even if I fail," she declared, "I won't give up 'til it's over!"

"While your intent is proper, your mindset is wrong." the NPC told her. "Though you remain committed, you also hold back because you fear disappointing him with failure. You must visualize your success at the end of your task, not your failure beforehand. Only then will you be able to overcome the obstacle and take the next step in your quest."

 _He's right_ , she realized. _Whether it's just training or a real battle, he always gives it his all, win or lose!_ Taking a deep breath to relax, she narrowed her focus to two things: herself, and the rock slab in front of her. Taking care not to neglect her surroundings, she visualized herself stepping forward and breaking the last of the slabs, drawing on the sense of Ash's companionship to give her confidence. A spike of surprise from the Martial Arts master broke her concentration before she could move, and she looked over to see him stumbling backwards the same few centimeters several times in a row as his motion processes were commandeered to help evaluate the information he had just received. Following his gaze, she looked over to see the last three slabs, which had been stacked in the neighboring crevice, were all broken cleanly.

Ash came over, having sensed a massive spike of energy. Thanks to the mental training sessions, he found it much easier than before to sense the Aura of his surroundings (though it still seemed slightly sluggish to respond to manipulation, leaving most of his faster strikes unenhanced). "What happened over here?" Serena wordlessly pointed at the broken pile of slabs. Curious, he switched to Aura Sight by closing his eyes and looked at them that way. The rocks themselves seemed normal, but there seemed to be a concentration of energy dissipating from around them that seemed slightly familiar.

Forgetting that she couldn't see it, Ash turned to Serena to ask if she recognized it – only to recoil in shock when he realized _why_ the energy seemed so familiar. "Um, Serena? I think _you_ did that…"

"What do you mean? I was all the way over here!" she told him, confused. "All I did was imagine myself breaking it like he told me to."

"I dunno, but there's gotta be some reason. I bet if Clemont was here he'd try and come up with a sciencey explanation of some kind…" He tried thinking back to the inventor's discussions of scientific phenomena before remembering a comment Clemont had made once about how science itself worked. "How about you do the same thing you did earlier, and we'll see if the same thing happens?"

"Um, okay…" She focused on the rock again, imagining her fist hitting it in the very center and sending a Spinarak-web of cracks outward. This time, now that she was looking for it, she felt a surge of energy gathering in her mind before being released in the direction of the rock. When she heard Ash saying _whoa_ under his breath, she blinked and looked at it again. She hadn't moved, but the cracks were still there – centered around the exact same point.

"Okay, that's seriously awesome." Ash told her with an impressed look on his face. "Did you know you could do that?"

The NPC chose that moment to recover. "While curiosity is a healthy trait to possess, one must be careful not to mix it with stupidity."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Ash asked him, resulting in Serena mentally bopping his head. "Ow…"

"He means don't ask stupid questions like 'did I know I could do what I _just figured out_?'. Of _course_ I didn't know!"

"I must admit, I did not expect your potential to manifest itself in this manner." the NPC told them, stroking his beard in thought. "It appears the focus of our morning sessions will have to shift to understanding and limiting the use of these abilities of yours – otherwise the other inhabitants may accuse you of dark magic, or _cheating_ as I hear the adventurers call it. The afternoons will remain dedicated to physical training, and physical training alone. That goes for both of you."

A notification appeared in their HUDs reading [New Quest: Mentem Vincere. System flag: Dynamic Generation] alongside a PM from Klein. [Hey, you guys okay? You've been out there for a while now.]

[Yeah, we're fine.] Ash responded. [We were out on an extended training mission and came across a quest we didn't expect. It said something about 'dynamic generation' – do you know what that's about?]

After a few moments, a reply came in. [Yeah, that was one of the things the online gossip was making a big deal out of. If the controlling program feels it's necessary, the system creates an entirely new quest, which means it's impossible to run out. I guess it noticed your player data and decided to make it worth your while to be out there. Just don't forget, send me a message if you need backup and the Fuurinkazan will be there to help! –Klein]

"Well, he isn't wrong…" Serena finally said after reading through the message. "It's just a different kind of 'worth our while'." Turning to the quest NPC, she told him, "Thank you very much for helping us, by the way. We'd probably have been totally lost without your help."

"No thanks is necessary Dewott-san, Dedenne-san. Now if you will excuse me, it is time that I retire for the day." He returned to his hut, leaving the two of them with one thought running through their heads.

 _Wait, he heard that?!_

* * *

As it turned out, the schedule he had given them had to be tweaked slightly. Most days, the 'control' sessions ended up lasting until early- to mid-afternoon, with only the remaining few hours devoted to rock-punching. By the time another four days had passed, they had progressed to the point that the hermit felt he could teach them no more.

"Congratulations," he announced, standing before them and bowing deeply. "Though the path was difficult for both teacher and student, we have reached the end of our sojourn together. As my parting gift to you, I bestow the skill of Martial Arts. May you use it wisely."

A scroll appeared in front of each of them, and they caught them reflexively. [Quest Complete: The Arts of the Warrior] the dialog box announced as their XP and col increased. [Category: Extra Skills Visible. Press (i) for more information.] Upon pressing the icon, another window appeared.

[If you are reading this, congratulations – you have obtained one of the hard-to-find Extra Skills. These are a special class of skills outside the standard Skill Tree categories and, as such, do not require standard Skill Slots. They can be found in a separate column of the Active Skills sub-menu. For further help, select the individual skills from your menu and read the information window.]

Deciding to look at the specifics later, Ash closed the window. "Thanks a lot!" he told the NPC. "Hopefully we can come back later and show you how much we learned."

The man said nothing, having returned to his meditation in the garden.

…

…

…

…

…

…

"Okay, this is getting kind of awkward." Serena whispered to him. "I think we're supposed to just leave." They retreated as silently as they could and made their way to the tunnel headed outwards. Thanks to the training, the few monsters they encountered were even less of a challenge than on the way in – the real challenge was heading back up the underground river.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about this part." Ash realized. "That explains why Kirito was slightly winded. He must have been traveling against the current the whole way back."

Just then, Fletchinder returned from scouting ahead. _"No hostile agents or unwanted observers to report!"_ it squawked, somehow staying aloft as it threw a salute with one wing. _"The operation has not yet been compromised."_ That was another benefit of the training – they could understand what their Pokémon partners were saying now, though it still took concentration.

 _"Permission to speak freely?"_ Pikachu cut in, not waiting for a response before continuing. _"I've been watching what that guy had you do, and I think I know how you can get up the river faster…"_

* * *

"You were right, Pikachu – this is faster!" Ash said as they traveled up the river on a solid platform of Aura. "How you doing back there, Serena?"

"It'd be easier if Pikachu didn't keep moving between your shoulder and the front of the platform!" she called back, drowning out Pikachu's _forward, ho!_ "I know he wants to look cool, but I need a clear mental picture of us to keep pushing us forward, and him moving makes it harder. What about you?"

"I'm fine, but I've got the easy job. It looks like we're almost there, though – you can stop pushing _now_!" The current slowed them to a stop and they jumped over onto the bank. Ash returned Pikachu to his virtual storage (which, he had admitted, was less constricting than a Pokéball) just in time to see Serena start swaying as the effects of her exertion hit. He quickly offered his arm for support. "I guess it was harder than you thought. Need help?"

Serena accepted gratefully, leaning on him slightly harder than necessary as they made their way out of the cave. Wary of revealing its location to other players, they walked out to the cliff before sitting down to rest. From the edge of the cliff, they could see Urbus about ten minutes' run away, maybe thirty if walking. Beyond it, a series of rolling foothills decorated the landscape and creating an interconnected network of valleys before giving way to more mountainous territory. "And I thought the first floor was impressive…" she breathed out, taking in the scenery.

"You said it." Ash agreed from where he was sitting next to her. "It's hard to believe that someone took the time to make something like this for every single floor – and a hundred of them? That's just crazy!" He raised a hand to shade his eyes so he could look more closely. "I gotta hand it to that Kayaba guy. This world he created is incredible, even if his trapping-people-inside plan was bad."

"Mmhmm." They sat in silence for a few more moments, admiring the scenery, before the mood was abruptly killed by a PM from Kirito. The subject line contained only a string of characters that somewhat resembled a face, but Ash swore that face looked almost smug. [How'd you enjoy that quest? I bet it _rocked_ , didn't it? Maybe left you feeling a little _catty_ towards the beginning?]

The second comment left Ash slightly confused. "I get the first one, but why did he put emphasis on 'catty'? There weren't any cats involved…"

Serena thought for a moment before realizing. "I think it was the whiskers. Remember how he rubbed his cheeks when he was coming out of the cave? His probably looked like some sort of cat or something."

They both started snickering at the idea of Kirito with Meowth whiskers, and Ash opened up a reply. [I must admit, it was a _disarming_ change.] he typed between chortles. [But you _otter_ believe we beat it _sensei_ -tionally.] Showing the window to Serena, he asked, "What do you think? Should I send it?"

"Hmm, it still feels like it's missing something." she said, the mirth in her eyes betraying the mock seriousness in her voice. "Try adding this." Using her own chat window, she showed him a ^uu^ face, which he promptly inserted. He pressed the button to send it, and they immediately collapsed on each other, laughing.

"I'm glad to see you two are enjoying yourselves – care to let me in on the joke?" Klein called up from the bottom of the cliff. He and his party had been mob-hunting nearby when they had heard laughter from the south, which he had decided to investigate.

"Sorry, the moment's kind of over." Ash apologized, wiping the excess moisture from his eyes. "You had to be there."

"I'm guessing it has to do with that 'special quest' the game gave you, then? Speaking of, how'd it go? You get any cool items or anything?"

Not wanting to get on Argo's bad side by revealing the quest she had worked to keep a secret, Serena decided not to mention the Martial Arts quest and tried to project that idea over to Ash. "Nope, just experience." she admitted. "Not enough to level us up, though."

Klein's breath hissed through his teeth. "Ooh. Tough break, sister – you too, bro. Sorry it didn't work out. What do you guys think you're gonna do now?"

"Probably head back to town, find a room, and maybe use one of the public kitchens to let Serena train her Cooking stat. She already makes really good food, and we're hoping it'll get even better as she levels up." Ash turned to Serena. "How high did you get it before we left town?"

"Lemme check…" she responded, opening her menu. Ash caught a brief glimpse of a second column in her Skills menu before she set it to Private and shot him a _we need to discuss this by ourselves_ look. "It's only up at 19 right now out of 1,000."

Klein could hear the slight discouragement in her voice. "Hey, for only three days that's pretty impressive – you'll have plenty of time to master it as the game goes on. You still probably don't want to waste any time, though, so don't let me keep you. Say, how were you planning to get down from there anyways? It's a lot harder to climb down a cliff than up one."

Ash flashed him a grin. "Who said we were climbing down?" They jumped over Klein's head and landed (Serena more lightly thanks to Acrobatics) with a roll. "I've fallen from a skyscraper before." he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "That cliff was nothing."

"Yeah, well not all of us had the leisure time to go skydiving or camping!" Klein called after them. "If you could leave some of your spare outdoors-iness here, I'd really appreciate it." Just before they were out of sight, he realized exactly _what_ Ash said he had fallen from. "Wait, did you say a _skyscraper?_ "

* * *

The incredulity in his voice followed them the rest of the way back to Urbus, where they immediately headed to the inn and purchased a two-bed room. Setting the door to Locked, Ash sat down on his bed. "So what was it we needed to talk about?"

"Remember what that message said about –" she sent a furtive glance at the door and lowered her voice, even though the walls were supposed to be soundproof. "…about the Extra Skills?"

"Yeah, I remember. But why's that so important?" In response, she made her menu visible again and showed it to him. The Martial Arts skill was there, just as he expected – but underneath it was another dialog box marked with a Pokéball labeled [Serene Grace]. Selecting it revealed a pop-up window that read [Passive Ability: Doubles the probability of beneficial effects and halves the probability of detrimental effects.] "Huh, that is weird. Since when do humans have Pokémon Abilities? Not that it doesn't suit you or anything – in fact, the name fits you perfectly! I wonder if I have one too…"

A mixture of warmth and exasperation flowed through her at his words. _How can he say something like that without any reaction?_ She could tell he was just saying what he thought was the truth, but couldn't help but feel disappointed that there didn't seem to be any further sentiment.

"Oh cool, I do… wait, why are you disappointed?" he continued, causing her to realize that she was projecting her emotions. As an effect of the training, her control over her mental energy had improved – but when she was not consciously regulating it she ran the risk of letting bursts of emotion escape. With further practice, they hoped, the regulation would become subconscious, allowing her to concentrate on the finer aspects of control. Quickly shoving that emotion to the back of her mind, she reassured him that it was nothing. "If you say so…" he replied, not fully convinced. "Anyway, look at this one!"

[Inner Focus], his Ability window displayed. [Passive Ability: Prevents temporary stunning effects comparable in duration to flinching. Note: This ability will not protect against Stunned or Paralyzed statuses.]

"It does kinda make sense." Ash said once she finished reading. "After all, a lot of Lucario and Riolu that I've seen have that Ability, and they're the ones who are most well-known for using Aura attacks. Maybe Clemont's program thought I was a Riolu or something while loading. Wait – come to think of it, didn't it say it had to reload some of the data?"

"You're right!" Serena realized. She imagined reaching back into her mind to physically pull the memory back to the forefront. "It said it had to reload the Fighting-type data to one helmet and the Psychic-type to the… other…" Suddenly, her brain made a new connection. "Do you think that means I have psychic abilities now? Or is that just in the game?"

"I have no idea." Ash admitted. "To be completely honest, I traveled through two and a half regions before even finding out I had Aura abilities. This could be something similar, or it could just be a computer thing – and we won't know until we get out. That's just even more reason to beat this game!" He leaped to his feet, fist in the air, and dashed out to start clearing again.

Or at least he would have, if not for the fact that the door was still locked.

"You'll never change, will you Ash?" Serena said, shaking her head fondly as he peeled himself up off the floor. She stepped around him and exited at a more sedate pace, heading towards the public cooking area and nearby market. "Stay safe out there, okay?"

"Sure thing!" he responded, closing the door and walking back outside the town to help solve the valley-maze blocking the way to the next town.

Nobody familiar with his navigational skills would have been at all surprised at how that attempt (or the next three) turned out – and those who weren't would have surmised that he had done something to give him an incredible string of bad luck.

* * *

Omake: Not That Kind of Guru

* * *

Serena, who did not have the benefit of Aura to increase her damage, was on the seventh out of ten slabs, unable to make a dent no matter how hard she attacked.

She refused to give up, though, unwilling to leave Ash to go through it alone. "Even if I fail," she declared, "I won't give up 'til it's over!"

"While your intent is proper, your mindset is wrong." the NPC told her. "Though you remain committed, you also hold back because you fear disappointing him with failure. You must visualize your success at the end of your task, not your failure beforehand. Only then will you be able to overcome the obstacle and take the next step in your quest."

As he spoke, a far-off look entered his eyes that somehow reminded her of Bonnie. She spent the next few seconds trying to figure out why, until he started talking again.

"Oh, and… um, you might want to try that for the rock too." The hermit walked away, leaving her puzzled.

She followed him with her gaze, watching him move to observe Ash. _What did he mean, 'for the rock too'? I thought he_ was _talking about the rock – what else could he…_ She facefaulted when her focus landed on the black-haired Trainer he was instructing. _Oh, for crying out loud! How can a pre-programmed computer character catch on before him?_

"Hey, Serena?" Ash interrupted her. "You're the one who's been doing all the shopping – which NPCs sell fruit? That guy told me to ask you about going with me to get dates or something like that." Immediately, a giant boulder fell on his head and shattered upon impact as if to highlight how dense he was. "Wait, is it raining?"


	8. Chapter 7

**.**

 **An Absol Among Umbreon**

(EP 03)

* * *

If Kirito had been asked to define what he thought of as "bad luck," running into two dimension-hopping acquaintances while shopping with a girl would have never crossed his mind. Granted, it wasn't so much bad luck as incredibly awkward (even without knowing the dimension-hopping part), but he still grimaced slightly whey he heard a familiar shout.

"Hey, Kirito! Haven't seen you in a while – how you doing?" Ash called, running up with Serena close behind.

"Oh, well, uh…"

As he gracefully articulated his thoughts, his companion exited the NPC shop. "All right, that's done with. Now let's get back to the… Um, Mr. Kirito? Who are they?" she asked, eying the two nervously.

"Oh, we teamed up with him for a while at the beginning of the game." Ash replied, flashing her a friendly smile. "I'm Ash, and this is my partner Serena." _Whew, that was a close one – I'm glad I didn't finish that with Pikachu's name like normal_. "What's your name?"

Kirito answered for her. "This is my guild-mate Sachi. Sachi, this is Serena and Ash. They actually saved _my_ life when we first partied up; I doubt I would have survived if it hadn't been for them watching my back."

Chuckling, Ash clapped a hand on Kirito's shoulder. "Come on, you helped us just as much as we did you. And whatever happened to you playing solo?"

"Um, that's sort of my fault." Sachi put in timidly. "We kind of convinced him to join in order to train me with a sword and help us get to the front lines. I think Keita didn't want to leave him trying to solo at his level either – we were having trouble as a group and he was only about three levels higher."

The two Trainers shared an incredulous look, finding that tidbit hard to believe. After all, they themselves were about three levels above the frontline average, and Kirito was higher than they were. Before they could ask Kirito about it, however, another voice interrupted.

"Oi, Kirito, Sachi! Why are you two taking so long? It better not be why I think it is…" A player with short brown hair poked his head around the corner sneakily, as if to try and catch a glimpse of something secret. When he saw the four of them talking, he came the rest of the way around. "All right, you're off the hook this time. Now who the heck are these guys? They trying to steal you for their own guild or something?"

"Really, Keita? They're friends from back on the first floor – and they don't even _have_ a guild to steal me for."

"Oh, well in that case, any friend of yours is a friend of mine." Keita turned to face them. "Sorry about that, by the way. We just picked up this guy a couple weeks ago, and we kinda wanna keep ahold of him 'til Sachi's a little better with her new weapon." As he glanced over at his two subordinates, Serena caught a flash of _and I bet she'll still wanna keep him around after that anyways, even if she doesn't know it now_. "To be honest, having him with us has helped out a lot – I almost feel I picked out the wrong guild name."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Serena asked, puzzled.

"The guild is called the Moonlit Black Cats." Kirito cut in. "And black cats aren't necessarily known for being associated with good luck."

"I dunno, I think you'd make a great black cat. You've already got the black part down…" Serena teased, stroking her chin as if thinking in order to subtly point at her cheeks while pushing the thought _whiskers_ as gently as she could in his direction. "Don't you think so, Ash?"

Kirito stuttered for words for a couple of seconds, causing Sachi to giggle, before trying to change the subject. "ANYWAY, Keita, weren't you coming to tell us to head back to the inn for dinner? It was cool seeing you again, guys, but I kinda gotta go."

Unfortunately for Kirito, Keita saw through his pathetic attempts at misdirection and his eyes lit up mischievously. "I dunno, this sounds like a pretty interesting story – why don't we invite them to eat with us and they can tell us all about it?" He took the chance to relish the rare look of panic on Kirito's face before Ash declined, citing dinner plans with Fuurinkazan on a different floor. "Ah well, that's too bad. I guess the two of you can meet the crew and regale us with embarrassing tales of Kirito some other time. I call them 'the crew,' by the way."

 _"So I've heard_ ," Pikachu snarked from within his digital storage space, forcing Ash to stifle laughter of his own.

"Sure, why not?" he managed to reply. "See you later, Kirito!" The two Trainers turned and walked towards the teleport gate, linking hands in order to not get separated by the crowds.

"…And how has he _not_ noticed her yet?" Keita commented as they left. "I mean, _anyone_ can see it!"

"Anyone except him, apparently." Kirito interjected. 'And no, this guild is not a matchmaker business."

Keita hung his head. "Aw, you found me out. But don't forget, you're not off the hook for that mysterious cat story. I _will_ find out one way or another."

"Oh, go jump off a bridge, why don't you." Kirito bit back unconvincingly, entirely unaware of the irony of his words.

* * *

As it turned out, the next time the three of them saw each other was more than a month later, after the clearing of the 28th Floor Boss (and Ash's birthday, which he himself had forgotten about). Kirito, oddly enough, hadn't shown up for the fight – something Kibaou would have taken great pleasure in if he had still been part of the clearing group.

Most players hadn't even noticed he was missing, though. Whatever attention his absence may have gathered was stolen by the recently-formed Knights of the Blood Oath (KOB for short) who had taken the place of Kibaou's group after the 25th floor boss. Despite it only being their third boss fight, it was still the third in as many floors, and so far none of its members had died thanks to the tactical mind of their leader Heathcliff and the charisma and ferocity of his second-in-command.

The change in Asuna's demeanor since the first floor was remarkable to see. Her unfocused, nihilistic aggression from before had been focused to a frightening accuracy, and her voice carried a commanding weight that even the veteran gamers in the guild listened attentively to. When Ash and Serena had asked her about it, she dismissed the question with a noncommittal response about having a dad in a management position and refused to say anything else. There seemed to be a tinge of hurt in her voice, but wanting to respect her privacy, they didn't press the issue.

Even through whatever family issues she had, though, her eyes still held a fire of resolve – unlike Sachi, who had just passed them in the street with her face downcast and an almost palpable aura of gloom. When she didn't respond to either of them calling her name, Ash immediately opened a PM to Kirito. [Hey, Serena and I just ran into Sachi, and she seemed pretty down. She acted like we weren't even there when we tried talking – do you know what's going on? We're near the onigiri shop on Floor 25, by the way.] He blinked a couple of times, verifying that he had not in fact called it a donut shop or a sandwich shop, and sent the message.

A few moments passed with no response, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps from the direction of the Teleport Gate. "I _knew_ I shouldn't have gone out solo-leveling today…" Kirito muttered under his breath as he came around the corner. "Thanks for the heads-up – Keita just sent me a message too. Did you see which way she went?"

"She went that way." Serena informed him, pointing towards an alley a couple of blocks down. The Performer knew exactly how Kirito felt, and would have responded in much the same way if Ash had gone missing. "I get the feeling she was looking for somewhere to hide."

"Got it." Kirito nodded in gratitude, eyes flashing green as he activated his Tracking skill-mod and began following the trail of footprints it revealed.

"Do you think we should help him?" Ash asked as Kirito disappeared into the alley. "Or should we just leave him to it?"

"I don't know…" Serena answered. "Maybe if we follow him but stay hidden until he needs help, like Pikachu did for us on the first floor?"

That seemed like a good idea to Ash, and he immediately switched to Aura Vision to track Kirito. As he scanned the area for the unique pulse he had come to associate with Kirito, Serena attempted to locate his mental signature. A few times during the scan, they simultaneously felt their senses expand, only to return to normal levels immediately afterwards. If it hadn't been for Kirito showing up during one of those enhanced scans, they would have likely investigated the phenomenon further – though it appeared to happen when both were focusing on the same area, Serena noted absently.

"Got him. He's… headed into the sewer? That's odd." Serena gave him a look that said _you're calling a sewer odd?_ "For him, that is." he amended, starting to jog in that direction. "In my case it'd probably just be another Wednesday."

When they reached the bridge above the sewer, they slowed to a stop to try and assess the situation. Though Sachi's mental state was still far below optimal, it seemed Kirito's presence had managed to somewhat reassure her and get her to open up.

A bitter laugh drifted up to them, barely audible. "If I really had the guts to die, I wouldn't be hiding inside a Safe Zone, would I?" Kirito's aura of nervousness decreased slightly after hearing this, though his concern did not abate, and the two Trainers decided it was safe to enter. "But why can't we just leave?" Sachi asked as they followed her voice. "Why do we have to die if it's just a stupid game? What's the _point_ of going through this?"

"There is no point, I guess…" Kirito replied, unable to come up with a satisfactory answer.

"Nothing's pointless." Ash interrupted, causing the two guild members to look up and see him. "If I've learned anything from all my experiences, it's that you make the most of whatever situation you're in – no matter how hopeless it seems. Isn't that right, Serena?"

Before she could respond, Sachi spoke up again. "But… I'm so afraid of dying in here. It's so bad I haven't even been able to sleep lately!"

"You know, I nearly had that problem back when the game started." Serena told her. "If Ash hadn't been there for me, I think I would have been just as scared. You two may not have known each other before the game, but I'm sure Kirito would be just as willing to be there for you." _And maybe even more, considering the protectiveness I feel coming from him…_

"Don't worry, you're not gonna die." Kirito told her emphatically, moving to sit closer.

"But how can you be so sure?"

The first thing Kirito wanted to say was _because I'll protect you_ , but considering what she thought his level was he figured that wouldn't sound quite as reassuring as it really was. "The Black Cats are strong enough as a guild." he finally managed. "Besides, there's a reason we've been keeping our safety margin large – and with Tetsuo and me up front, there's no reason you can't stay in the rearguard."

"You really think I'm not gonna die?"

"Of course not!" Ash interrupted, placing a hand on Kirito's shoulder. "He's got your back and we've got his. We'll clear this game and get back to the real world no problem!"

Sachi smiled, relief and tears flooding her eyes as she looked gratefully at the three of them (but mostly at Kirito).

"I think we ought to give them some privacy now…" Serena whispered in Ash's ear, attempting to project an air of _nothing-noteworthy-over-here_ to mask their departure. She couldn't tell whether or not it was her effort that caused it, but the two Black Cats took no notice when they left.

* * *

Thankfully, the mini-therapy session seemed to have worked, as Kirito responded much more positively when they sent messages to check up on her over the next couple of weeks. Ash and Serena were curious about what exactly was helping her cope, but Kirito seemed somewhat reluctant to share details, and helping beat Floor 29's boss occupied a good part of their attention.

Considering the frequency and length of his communications, they were surprised when Kirito sent _them_ a message. [You said you guys would watch my back while I watched theirs? Well, now's the time. Keita's off buying a house, and the rest of the guild wanted to explore a dungeon on Floor 27. We should be fine, but I can't help but feel a sense of danger – would you mind following behind us just in case? Klein's guild would be a bit too obvious, and I don't want to make the others suspicious.]

[On our way. Which dungeon?]

Kirito's answer arrived as they were exiting the Teleport Gate. [The one on the southeast border, inside the stone doorway underneath the big tree.] Taking a moment to reorient themselves, they ran full speed through the crowded marketplace towards the edge of town.

If they had been normal players, this would have garnered a large amount of attention – but thanks to the incident with Kirito and Sachi, they had discovered a way to keep themselves beneath notice. After a few trial-and-error tests, Serena had discovered that the most efficient way to avert attention was to project an aura of being Somebody Else's Problem (and yes, the capital letters were necessary). With Ash giving her an Aura boost, the effect was strong enough to keep all but the most outrageous of stunts from attracting the other players' notice by doing exactly what its description said. Unfortunately, they could only keep up the effect for ten minutes at the most.

Even so, ten minutes was more than enough time to exit the central Town and travel beyond the notice of those who might try to follow them. Slowing to a jog, they opened the Friend Locator to check where Kirito was just in time to see his icon wink out. "Well, I guess we know where the entrance is now." Ash remarked, turning in the opposite direction. "C'mon, let's go!"

Serena cleared her throat, stopping him in his tracks. "It's over this way, silly."

"Oh, right." he chuckled mareepishly. "I'm glad you're here with me, or else I would've just run off without thinking again – and that wouldn't have been much help to Kirito, would it?"

"No, no it wouldn't."

Once they actually started traveling in the right direction, the doorway was easy to find. The Black Cats' presence was immediately evident, as the opening chamber was almost completely emptied of monsters – and those that were there had only just respawned. Since this was a side dungeon and not a Boss Labyrinth, the enemies Ash and Serena encountered only took one or two hits from each of them to defeat.

Even so, they chose the path with the fewest monsters, reasoning that the guild had most recently passed through that hallway. This proved to be the wrong choice, as the mobs simply had a lower spawn rate than in the other two. After several more wrong turns and a few would-be ambushes where the monsters spawned on top of them, they finally heard the sound of combat from a nearby hallway.

"See, I told you guys this was gonna be cake." a voice announced as they approached. "We might even be able to reach the front lines sooner!"

"That's what I'm talking about!" a second chimed in jubilantly before gasping in surprise. "Ooh, look at this…" A rumbling noise followed his words, the "new chamber opening" sound effect identifying his action. He promptly cheered in delight once he saw what was in the chamber. "Nice, a treasure chest!"

Ash and Serena rounded the corner to see the majority of the Black Cats heading into a room about two hundred feet down the corridor that was occupied solely by a treasure chest. The only exceptions were Kirito, who seemed slightly skeptical, and Sachi, who was hanging back with Kirito. As the group's rogue knelt down to open the chest, Kirito stepped forward with a note of urgency in his voice, Sachi tailing close behind. "Ducker, wait!"

It was too late, though. Ducker had opened the chest, only for the walls to light up and cast an angry red glare on its empty interior. "What? This is bogus!" He turned to Kirito to complain and saw Ash and Serena rushing towards them. "Wait, who are they?"

"We've got bigger problems to worry about – that was a trap! We need to get out of here, fast."

The door slammed shut with a resounding _CLANG_ , trapping them in the room with a mass of enemies.

* * *

On the other side, of the door, Ash hurriedly pressed the stone that seemed most likely to unlock the door. [Battle in progress.] a window helpfully informed him. [Door can be opened again in (04:52).] He slammed his fist angrily against the wall, regretting the fact that he had just been a _few_ seconds too slow.

Serena, meanwhile, was dealing with a different window of her own. As they had been running down the hall, she could see that they were not going to make it in time, even running at boosted speed. Unwilling to give up, she had thought back to the instructions of the hermit on Floor 2 for inspiration. _You must visualize your success_ echoed in her mind and, though she questioned how it would help, she did so. Pulling all the focus she could from running, she imagined herself and Ash standing inside the room next to Kirito and pushed all the energy she had into that image. For a brief second, a blue light started to invade her vision – only to be blocked by a display reading [ANTI-CRYSTAL AREA: TELEPORTS PROHIBITED]. This caused her to experience three different kinds of distress: first, that she and Ash were unable to help; second, that Kirito's group had no way to escape; and third, she now had a blinding headache from the rebounded energy.

Ash was immediately at her side, having felt the pain she was broadcasting. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he could see that her mental aura was fluctuating drastically, pulsing much harder than it should have been and disturbing the flow through the rest of her body. If nothing else, it would need to be regulated – but she was not in the position to do so herself. That left only one option: his own Aura. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, attempting to mirror her posture as closely as possible, and let down all the barriers he had become accustomed to putting up in front of the other players so that he could send her his energy as evenly as possible.

(03:36)… (03:35)…

The fluctuations were beginning to decrease, and the hitch that had developed in her breathing was gone.

(02:51)…

Her mental energy finally reached manageable levels, and he could feel her beginning to relax. He also sensed a new emotion starting to appear, though he couldn't identify what she was experiencing.

(01:30)…

The intensity representing her headache was gone, and he had finally managed to identify the mysterious emotion as a _thrum_ of contentment. He didn't know what was causing it, but it felt contagious enough that he didn't feel the need to find out.

(00:45)…

Ash absently noted that at some point Serena had started contributing to the energy exchange as well, but decided not to stop unless she asked him to.

(00:03)… (00:02)… (00:01)… (00:00)...

A chime interrupted them, bringing them back to reality. The pattern on the door was lit up again, indicating that they could now open the door. A joint resolve filled them, and they opened the door together, determined to not let anyone who was still in the room die.

If their previous battles together could be compared to a dance, this one reached almost professional levels of choreography. Neither needed to ask what the other was doing – they just _knew_. Feinting, all-out assault, drawing away enemies; it was all performed with deadly precision, their blades coming within millimeters of each other but never injuring their partner. This continued on for a full minute, culminating in a three-way attack against the last monster (aided by Kirito), after which the connection subsided.

Said swordsman was the only other inhabitant of the room, face shadowed in grief and rage. A small part of the rage was directed at Ash and Serena, though he knew he could not have reasonably expected them to arrive any faster. The majority, however, was directed at himself for having allowed this to happen, for having hidden his level and thus making them overconfident, for not having been able to keep his promise to Sachi. _I won't let that happen to someone I care about again_ , he swore, footsteps falling heavily as he slowly walked out without acknowledging either Ash or Serena.

* * *

Unlike the last two times he had dropped off their radar, this time Kirito seemed determined to maintain his isolation – even going so far as to set his locator option to Undiscoverable. The only times they ever saw him were the Floor Boss fights, where he showed up, wordlessly DPSed the living heck out of the bosses, and disappeared again as soon as the next floor opened up. And even if he had been willing to speak, he always fought at the opposite end from the two Fuurinkazan parties, with whom Ash and Serena usually partnered.

They could tell that Klein was worried too, as he had dropped his usual jovial speech patterns when discussing or addressing Kirito. "He knows closing himself off like that isn't good for him, right? It's like he's turned himself into a machine, but lately he's been pushing himself so hard he's close to a breakdown…"

"Do you think it has anything to do with the rumors we've been hearing lately?" Ash responded. "About this 'resurrection item' from the special Christmas Boss?" Serena herself was actually out listening for more details under the pretense of shopping (though the opportunity to practice her notice-me-not technique didn't hurt either).

"I don't know." Klein answered grimly before a light flashed in his eyes. "But I think I know who would." Opening a private message window, he shot off a brief message to Argo. [Did Kirito buy any information from you about the resurrection item rumors, and if so what did he buy? Currently offering 1100 col for the answer.]

[Make it 1500 and we'll talk.] she replied.

He was somewhat annoyed that she had raised the price by that much, but he also considered it a necessary sacrifice to help keep Kirito safe. [1500 it is, then. Now spill.]

[Yes, he did buy information. A couple of days ago, he bought information about where the boss was going to show up. Normally, I would charge another 1000 col for that information, but because I'm worried about him too I'll offer you a 50% discount.]

 _I found the information! It's supposed to appear under a gigantic fir tree in one of the lower dungeons!_ Serena informed Ash excitedly. At some point after the incident in the 27th Floor dungeon, they had realized that if they concentrated hard enough they could re-create a milder version of the thought-sharing they had experienced during their attempted rescue. It was still limited, however, by the fact that the connection required physical proximity to initialize – and most often physical contact as well. _Oh yeah, I also found this matching set of amulets that increase the defense of the players wearing them if they're a boy and a girl in the same party. Can we get them? Please?_

 _If it makes you happy, sure_ he sent back. As a side effect of the mental link, emotions would occasionally bleed over from one person to the other, and he would much rather that emotion be happiness than anger, sadness, or something similar. Bonnie had teased them endlessly about it when she caught wind, and he wasn't sure in the end whether the embarrassment he had felt came from himself or from Serena. Further blurring the line, he occasionally found himself passing up certain pieces of armor because "it would clash with his tunic and boots, and there's no way he would _ever_ let that fashion disaster happen" – something he had never thought would ever be an issue.

Dismissing the memories and acting as if dismissing a message window, he tapped Klein on the arm to get the samurai's attention. "Serena says she found out more from the people in the town. I think she said the boss is supposed to appear under a fir tree lower down or something like that."

 _A fir tree, huh… I know where that is._ Klein thought, quashing a sentiment of _take that!_ as he answered Argo. [Sorry, but no deal. I just found out the location from another interested party. Maybe next time, though.] He stood up sharply, clenching his fist. "Well, we can't waste any more time. If we're gonna help him, we've gotta be at the top of our game. Fuurinkazan, prepare for an epic training montage!"

And a montage the next few weeks were – at least from Clemont's perspective. Having been unable to access the server (and expecting an influx of challengers that would prevent him from observing directly), he had attempted to create a recording program that would allow him to catch up on their progress. Unfortunately, the still-active time acceleration caused it to only capture short disconnected snippets, which Clembot inexplicably decided to splice together with a catchy ditty playing in the background. Most of these snippets were of monster battles, but there were a few stranger scenes interspersed, such as a sleeping Klein being covered in custard or Frogadier taking an outdoor shower in mid-winter, blissfully unaware of the camera. The strangest, though, was what seemed to be a portion of an infomercial promoting Heathcliff-brand(TM) Mouthwash. _Is it even_ possible _for them to have bad breath?_ Clemont would later wonder as he watched the video.

He would not be the only one with questions; Klein had a question of his own once it was over. "You've all got your armor repaired and all the potions and crystals you need, right?" he asked the players assembled in front of him. Their affirmative response encouraged him. "Alright, listen up. The boss is supposed to show up at midnight, and we know Kirito's gonna be there. Now, whether he wants it or not, our first priority is to protect him and protect each other – whether from the boss or from his own recklessness and stupidity. Because here in Fuurinkazan, no brother (or sister) gets left behind!" Cheering in agreement, the twelve players assembled (his guild plus Ash and Serena) set off to the dungeon with the fir tree.

* * *

Strangely, it appeared that the "keep Ash away from the map and we won't get lost" hypothesis was invalid – simply having him in the same party as the navigator seemed to be enough to throw the group off course. As such, they were unable to reach the tree before Kirito; instead, they ran into him right where the detour they had taken met back up with the shorter path.

"Yo, wassup?" Klein greeted the beta-tester cheerfully, only to receive a flat, almost emotionless response.

"You followed me." A resigned statement, not a question. There was no surprise whatsoever in his voice (thanks no doubt to a certain Rat, Klein surmised).

"Not exactly. We were trying to get there before you, but sort of got lost – but that's beside the point! Listen, there's no guarantee this rumor about the revival item isn't bogus, so why risk your life for it? I mean, it's a freakin' _Boss_ , for cryin' out loud! You wouldn't want your HP to drop to zero, would you? If it does, it'll fry your brain and –"

"Shut up." Kirito told him, unwilling to be swayed by that argument but too depressed to formulate a comeback.

"Dude, quit it with this solo stuff already! Just work with us and we'll let the game decide who gets the item, okay?" Klein responded, planning to play mostly defensively and let Kirito increase his percentage chance of getting the item if he accepted.

Kirito still did not seem to be convinced. "But if it's all random numbers in the end, what would be the point of it all?" He drew his sword a few inches from its scabbard in an effort to intimidate them into standing down. "I have to do this alone."

Before anyone could say anything else, the clearing was lit up with the glow of teleporting players, fading to reveal a large group of similarly armored players. In response, Fuurinkazan arrayed themselves in a defensive formation around Kirito as per their orders.

"I guess this means _you_ were being followed." Kirito said, unsheathing his sword the rest of the way.

"Yep, it sure looks that way." Klein answered him as he placed a hand on his katana hilt. His grip tightened when he noticed the guild icon next to their cursors and HP bars – that of the Divine Dragon Alliance. While the DDA was one of the most powerful clearing guilds, their methods of obtaining that power were somewhat questionable. Nobody could prove anything, but their members had been accused in the past of kill-stealing and blackmail for the purpose of acquiring rare items. There were even rumors that they were willing to become orange players in order to do so, which did _not_ sit right with Klein.

Coming to a snap decision, the samurai unsheathed his katana and pointed it at the assembled players. Even if Kirito refused to fight with them, that didn't mean he had to try and take on the DDA _and_ the Boss at the same time. "You go on ahead, we'll hold these ba- these butt-faces off." he told Kirito, censoring himself for the sake of the two guests in his party. "Just make sure you don't die on us."

Kirito hesitated for a couple of seconds before turning and running to the next in-dungeon teleport gateway. _Good luck,_ Klein thought as the black-coated swordsman disappeared, along with Ash and Serena's names in his HUD. He briefly wondered why they did so, but decided to let one of his other guildmates deal with it (unaware that they had all decided it was his duty to address the issue).

As it turned out, that was exactly the reaction the two of them had been looking for, since it meant the notice-me-not/SEP technique Serena had used was working properly. Thus concealed, the two of them snuck after Kirito as Klein stepped forward to confront the DDA leader.

* * *

Almost as soon as they had left, the honorable Judge Murphy stepped in to ensure certain legal matters were carried out – namely, them falling far enough behind Kirito that they ended up turning the wrong way again. By the time they finally reached the tree, their quarry was engaged heavily in battle against an almost comically grotesque version of Santa Claus almost three times his size. Its right hand held an enormous battle-axe, and with its left it was throwing explosive Presents from inside its large sack.

It noticed them as soon as they entered, causing a split-second delay in its swing. Kirito, not expecting the change in pattern, ended up dodging right into its path, and his health fell dangerously close to the red as he was thrown to the edge of the battlefield. "Tsk, tsk, more naughty children to punish…" Nicholas the Renegade intoned in a gravelly voice, producing a pair of his painful parcels to pummel the protective partners.

 _You take the left, I'll take the right?_ Ash thought, opening up their partner-bond and activating his "Combat Awareness" (as they had dubbed that mindset). A wordless nod, and they dashed to opposite sides, attempting to confuse the boss by simultaneously broadcasting _hey, over here!_ and _nothing important_ from both of their locations. Unfortunately, because it was a Boss its program supported multi-thread processing, allowing it to swing at Serena with its axe while throwing a Present at Ash with its other hand.

This did, however, have the effect of pulling its attention away from Kirito, who almost forgot to drink a health potion in his surprise. _Wait, when did they get here? No, that's not important… hold on, why wouldn't it be?_ He rubbed his eyes in confusion as his HP slowly ticked back up, trying to figure out their nonexistent strategy. They didn't seem to care about watching their backs, and yet somehow they managed to avoid all but glancing blows – at one point, Ash even used the shockwave from one of the explosions to launch himself at Nicholas faster than running would have allowed.

Even so, Kirito doubted their luck would last long and began charging back into the fight. As he approached, he saw one of the wrapped projectiles headed straight for Serena's unguarded back, instinctively changing his course to intercept. Given the level gap, he assumed, while a direct hit would bring him firmly down into the yellow, it could be fatal to her – and he didn't want to lose _another_ friend, which was why he had closed himself off in the first place! He was surprised how easy it was to push her out of the way ( _as if she knew he was coming_ , his brain noted absently), and his surprise only grew when it erupted into a shower of sparkles that refilled the remainder of his HP bar.

Nicholas seemed surprised as well, calling on the North Wind to surround himself with a barrier as his AI processed the additional effects produced by Clemont's Super Training software. "What are you guys doing here?" Kirito hissed as his annoyance finally surfaced, making sure to keep an eye on Nicholas while he did so.

"We promised to watch your back –"

"– so that's what we're doing." they informed him, seriousness radiating with every word. "Even if you don't want to fight with us –"

"– we're gonna fight with you!"

Nicholas dropped his barrier then, and the fight restarted with a vengeance. Kirito attempted to draw aggro by dealing the most damage, but the boss seemed strangely fixated on Ash and Serena. As such, he decided his best bet to keep them alive would be to destroy the boss as quickly as possible – no matter how unrealistically fast their dodges seemed.

Their progress was slowed, however, by the Boss's new strategy. To account for the occasional healing effect of the Presents, the Cardinal system allowed Nicholas to anticipate which ones were which and throw the healing projectiles up so they would fall on his own head. Thankfully, the healing was on a fixed-HP basis rather than a percentage, and his Defense was lowered slightly to keep him from becoming too over-powered.

In addition, the explosions now varied in intensity, which made it harder to judge appropriate dodging distance – something all three of them found out the hard way. While Ash and Serena's Combat Awareness technique allowed them to see where the parcels would be, it did not show them the size of the blast. As a result, they were forced to be more cautious; even so, all of their HP bars were edging close to the redzone as Nick's crossed over the barrier.

Thanks to the lowered Defense, one more high-leveled Sword Skill should have been enough to finish him off, but Kirito and his allies hung back for a few seconds, wary of "last-resort" techniques. Nicholas' reply was to withdraw another healing Present and throw it above his head, causing Kirito to mutter " _Belgium!_ " under his breath and charge forward. As his Sword Skill kicked into gear, he realized that he would not reach the Boss in time to keep it from healing itself, and he didn't think any of their skills were high-level enough to burn through the last of –

Serena used Fling.

Her dagger glowed brightly before shooting up into the sky. Kirito's brain switched over to puzzlement as the system moved his body, wondering what she was aiming at – from what he had seen, its trajectory was well above the boss's head. He was answered by the sound of erupting sparkles, which fizzled out of existence just before contacting Nicholas. It was then the Boss's turn to be puzzled when its anticipated healing never took place, its brow furrowing confusion just before it shattered into polygons.

[Congratulations! You got the Last Attack!] the game informed Kirito. [Accept item Peverell's Charm? Y/N] He quickly pressed Yes, opening his inventory and selecting the item to read the description.

[Peverell's Charm: This item is rumored to have existed in an era of magic, belonging to a wizard who managed to cheat Death. To use the Charm, hold it in your hand and announce "Revive [name of player who has died within the preceding 10 seconds]!" This will halt the deletion process and regenerate their avatar, albeit as a shade of what they once were (Level decreased by 15% from time of death). Not a multiple-use item.]

There it was, staring him right in the face. _Within the previous 10 seconds._ Sachi was gone forever, and there was nothing he could do about it. Selecting the Drop Item button, he threw the stone at Ash. Ash fumbled it for a few seconds before catching it properly. "Wait, you're just going to throw away all that work?" he asked Kirito, confused.

"Read the description. It's useless to me." the beta-tester responded blackly, his voice void of any hope or resolve. "This way you won't have to lose Serena the way I lost Sachi." Leaving no room for conversation, he immediately used a Teleport crystal to return to the town he was staying in. A single tear landed with a _hiss_ where he had been standing, as if punctuating his declaration of defeat even in victory.

* * *

Omake: In Which the Shout-Out Becomes a Crossover

* * *

 _A little over three years later, ALFheim Online…_

"Wait, so let me get this straight. You managed to _convert an item_ from GGO, an _American_ game, to ALFheim? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know." Kirito admitted, scratching his head sheepishly as Klein glared at him. "I didn't even know I _had_ Death Gun's cloak in my inventory when I switched games – especially now that it's being called Peverell's Shroud now."

"Hmm… now why does that sound so familiar?" the samurai wondered, before realizing something. "That's it! The resurrection stone from Aincrad had that name as part of its ID as well – look!" Manipulating his menu, he materialized Peverell's Charm to show Kirito – just as Asuna walked in the door holding the wand Kirito had retrieved for her from Yggdrasil, the eldest tree in ALFheim.

All of a sudden there was a sharp _crack_ , and green flames erupted from the fireplace before clearing to reveal a newcomer. The new arrival had a rather grandfatherly air about him, his grey hair and long grey beard contrasting sharply with the vibrantly colored robes he was wearing. A pair of half-moon spectacles sat on his nose, partially concealing his twinkling blue eyes.

"Ah, what luck!" he announced when his gaze fell upon the three items they were carrying. "I expected the search for those items to take the boy and his friends the better part of a year, and here they are all in one place…"

"Um, forgive my asking, but WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?" Klein said, hand straying to his katana before he remembered they were in a Safe Zone.

The old man was unperturbed, rifling through the sweets on the counter to see if there were any he liked. "My name is Alb–"

Suddenly a sibilant voice interrupted with a seemingly nonsensical incantation ( _I don't think any ALFheim spells sound like 'abracadabra'_ , Kirito thought) and a flash of green light washed over the man, turning him into a Remain Light which Asuna quickly revived. Meanwhile, the noseless interloper attempted casting the OHKO spell at Kirito – only to be surprised when he destroyed it with the slash of a sword. It was fortunate for him that his skin was already white, or he would have gone pale with shock.

His wand was soon confiscated, and the four other inhabitants of the room surrounded him, glaring menacingly.

"Eh heh heh… I don't suppose negotiation is on the table?"


	9. Chapter 8

**.**

 **Of Taming, Training, and the Touch of Treacherous Titans**

(EP04)

* * *

It had been about two months since the boss fight against Nicholas. Thanks to what Klein had called a "Christmas miracle" (because the beta-tester was unwilling to tell them about it), Kirito had somehow managed to move past the state of suicidal depression he had fallen into that night. He hadn't moved far beyond it, though – nobody but Argo seemed to be able to elicit a response from him, and those responses were only business-related.

Argo herself was actually the reason Ash and Serena happened to be back in the Forest of Wandering instead of in the town that afternoon. According to her sources, another player on the middle floors had been traveling around with a Tamed Monster accompanying them, which made the two of them quite curious. If the rumors were true, Pikachu would no longer have to remain in digital storage indefinitely, which was something that would make him very happy. The Beast Tamer, Argo claimed, would be farming in the Forest (where the two of them had also been training) with a group of other players that day.

As it turned out, the randomly-shifting Forest had multiple advantages for the two Trainers. The layout made it impossible for Ash to make them any more lost than normal players would be, and the odds of another player stumbling upon them were low enough that Pikachu and Fletchinder (the two Pokémon who looked most similar to SAO monsters) were often allowed to accompany them during their training.

The universe seemed to take an almost perverse pleasure in subverting and even reversing odds, however. Not even twenty minutes after entering that day, they encountered another player – but _they_ were the ones who did the finding. And, as Ash's luck would have it, the person they discovered was in need of assistance.

The girl in question had just been thrown up against a tree by a Drunken Ape's club, her dagger flying several feet away and landing out of reach. Her health bar, barely visible at that distance, was well into the red, and there were three of the Apes surrounding her in total. Ash and Serena started running to assist her, though the distance made them doubt that they would make it in time. Suddenly, a small blue-feathered dragon darted in and interposed itself between the lead Ape's club and the player, eliciting an anguished cry of " _Pina!_ " from the distraught girl as it was sent crashing to the ground and erupted into polygons.

 _That must be the player Argo was talking about_ , Ash realized. _Otherwise, why would that monster attack for… her…_ "Pikachu, Quick Attack!" he commanded, Serena quickly coming to the same conclusion and ordering a Flame Charge from Fletchinder. The two Pokémissiles _whooshed_ across the clearing, destroying the two Apes that had rotated to the front just as they were about to attack the grieving girl. Confused, the third Ape turned its head to assess the new source of danger – just in time for Serena's thrown dagger to hit it directly in the face.

"Are you okay?" the Performer asked, rushing over to the dragon tamer's side.

"Pina's gone, and this is all I have left of her!" she sobbed, clutching a solitary feather to her chest. "She was my best friend…"

"It's too bad we didn't get here sooner." Ash sighed dejectedly. "Otherwise we could've helped save her."

The girl shook her head, voice shaking along with it. "No, it's my fault. I was stupid enough to think I could get through the forest myself. You did what you could, so I don't blame you."

Just then, Serena noticed something odd. "Wait, since when does something dying leave physical items behind? Is there something special about that feather?"

A spark of hope lit up the girl's eyes, and she quickly tapped on the feather to open the description. [Pina's Heart: The remains of the Familiar Pina who fought alongside Player Silica.] That was all – nothing further. The disappointment Silica's demeanor displayed was eerily similar to how Kirito felt the night they fought Nicholas.

 _Hold on a moment, didn't one of the items we got that night say something about reviving Familiars?_ Ash realized, sending the thought over to Serena.

 _You're right!_ she responded excitedly. _I remember Argo was *extremely* eager to get her hands on that parchment – this must be what it was talking about!_ She placed a hand on Silica's shoulder, interrupting another round of tears. "Hey, don't cry. The fact that you even have Pina's heart means there's a way to bring her back."

Silica's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yep! According to someone we know wouldn't lie about this, there's a dungeon up on Floor 47 called the Hill of Memories. If someone whose Familiar has died reaches the end of the dungeon within three days of its death, they'll find a Revival Herb growing there that they can use with their Familiar's Heart to bring it back."

As Serena spoke, Silica's face fell. "I'll _never_ get to Floor 47 that quickly…" she groaned, mood quickly souring again.

Ash and Serena glanced at each other and exchanged a nod. "Here, take this equipment." Ash told Silica, each of them opening up a Trade Window. "It's about four or five levels higher than what you have right now – plus, your outfit will match your hair ties. If we escort you, you should be able to revive Pina no problem."

Silica blinked in confusion. "But why would you do something like this for someone you just met?"

Serena chuckled. "You've obviously never met Ash." she said fondly as Fletchinder flew down and rested on her shoulder, Pikachu mirroring that position with Ash. "Besides, we Trainers have to stick together and help each other out!"

It was only then that Silica fully registered the presence of the Pokémon. "Wow, you have partners too? That's awesome! My name's Silica, by the way."

"I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu." Ash introduced himself, Pikachu chiming in with an _it's about time you introduced me, Ash!_ (All Silica heard, however, was "Pi chu pika pikachu, Pikapi!") Turning, he indicated his companions. "That's Serena and Fletchinder. Serena's been my companion since before we got stuck here."

"Nice to meet you." she responded politely. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you had your partners?"

"We've actually had them for at least a month or two now – we've just been keeping it quiet since we didn't know about anyone else like us." Serena admitted (taking care to phrase her sentence such that she was still telling the truth), before her eyes turned serious again. "And now that we've found you, we're not gonna let you lose your partner. C'mon, let's head back to town so we can get a good meal and a good night's rest before we go. And don't worry about paying us back for the items. Another player did this for us our first day, so it's only fair that we do it for you."

"Thank you _so_ much!" Silica said, giving Serena a hug as Ash started leading them into the forest. "Operation: Save Pina is a go!"

* * *

They found the exit easily enough, surprisingly. It was only afterwards that Ash admitted he was trying to lead them _deeper_ into the forest, trusting his innate sense of mis-direction to get them out. That earned him a whack in the head and an affectionate "Doofus…" from Serena, causing their new companion to giggle. "You two must really like each other, don't you?"

They were saved from having to answer by a shout from the alley they were passing. "Hey, look – it's Silica!" A pair of teenage boys rushed towards them, skidding to a halt a few feet away. "It took you a long time to get back. We were getting worried!"

"You wanna team up with us? We'll take you wherever you want to go!"

Serena sighed, recognizing all the signs of obsessive fanboys. "If you hadn't noticed," she informed them sharply, "she's already partying with us." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Silica's name appearing in the HUD as Ash finally remembered to send her a party invitation. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have things to do."

They could feel the stares on their backs as they walked away – and if a rock just _happened_ to move such that the two boys would trip as soon as they started walking, well, Serena couldn't expect them to watch their feet and their "foes" at the same time.

"So you've got fans, huh?" Ash asked with amusement. "Do they admire you for what you can do or for how you look?"

Silica sighed. "They just want me to be their mascot so they can say 'we have the dragon tamer in our party.' But given what just happened, maybe they're right…"

"Don't say that." Serena told her. "The first time I entered a Performance Showcase in the real world, I failed in the first round – but I didn't give up, and I'm a lot better now than I was before. Like Ash always tells me: _Don't give up 'til it's over._ You're here, we're here; it's not over, not by a long shot."

The pep talk seemed to bolster Silica's confidence again. "Thanks a lot. I know – I'll buy you guys some cheesecake as a thank you!"

Her mention of cheesecake reminded Serena about the stew she had simmering in the public kitchen (ID-locked to prevent tampering), and she excused herself to go on ahead and check on it while Ash got a snack from the market to tide him over until it was ready. Said "snack" turned out to be three bowls of noodles and a rice ball, which he practically inhaled, much to Silica's astonishment.

That astonishment quickly turned into annoyance thanks to their next encounter. "Well, if it isn't Silica…" another voice interrupted, this one sounding like a smug female rather than an admiring male. "Wow, you made it out of the forest alive. Good for you, girl."

Ash noticed her change in attitude, leaning in to ask what the matter was. She dismissed it as nothing, but the way she reacted to the condescending red-haired woman who was approaching them belied her words.

"Hang on a moment – what happened to your little friend the lizard?" the woman asked, in a tone that suggested she knew the answer already. "Did it run away?"

"She… she died saving me." Silica admitted, before her eyes firmed up in resolve. "But we're going to bring her back! And she's a dragon, not a lizard!"

The woman twirled a lock of hair around her finger. "Oh, I guess you'll be heading to the Hill of Memories then?" Ash was immediately suspicious. Why would someone who just _happened_ to run into Silica right after Pina died just _happen_ to know where she would need to go _and_ be so smug about that knowledge? When the red-haired lady made a jab at Silica's level, his irritation found an outlet.

"You bet she's strong enough." he cut in, taking a step forward. "And she won't be alone."

She finally seemed to notice he was there. "Oh my gosh, you seduced _another_ player?" she mocked, the lack of comprehension on Ash's face about what she was trying to insinuate prompting slight confusion of her own. Unwilling to admit defeat, however, she pressed on. "And I doubt anyone you can find this low down would be strong enough to help you get through…"

It took all Ash had not to erupt at her, but thanks to his link with Serena he was calm enough to recognize that doing so would be playing right into her hands. Instead, he calmly escorted Silica away, noting with slight surprise that Kirito had been eavesdropping from a nearby alley. _But who was he watching – me, Silica, or that other player?_ His stomach then growled, and he set the thought aside in favor of anticipating Serena's delicious stew.

* * *

They ran into Kirito again after supper, just before reaching the cheesecake restaurant. Curious about why he was there, Ash invited him to join them and offered to pay for his dessert. He accepted much more readily than Ash had expected, causing him to realize it was probably related to why the beta-tester was even down there in the first place. After that, all it took was Serena pointing out how Kirito had looked at Silica before accepting to tell them that it had something to do with Silica's quest, and possibly the strange red-haired lady as well. Speaking of whom…

"Why does Rosalia have to be so mean?" Silica complained, hands clenched as she looked down at the table. Neither Ash nor Serena could answer the question, so Kirito began explaining.

"I'm guessing this is the first MMO any of you have played?" There was a chorus of nods from the others. "You two remember that chat with Argo back on the first floor? Back when everybody was raging at the beta-testers? It's the same concept. Operating behind a username gives a shield against repercussions, and so people can play as bad guys without fear of punishment. Some people would even _rather_ play as the bad guy than as the good guy.

"Thankfully, SAO has a way to discourage that. You know how the cursor above everybody's heads is green? Well, if you commit a crime against another player – like attacking them if they haven't attacked you first – your cursor turns orange. The first few times it wears off, but if you exhaust the mercy of the system it becomes permanent. Then, not even doing the penance quest will change it back. People with cursors like that are called 'red players' or 'orange players,' and the vast majority of them take pleasure in Player Killing."

Serena swallowed nervously, glad they had followed Kirito on Christmas Eve instead of sticking around to face off against the DDA now that she knew what the rumors meant.

"Now, if this was a regular MMO, roleplaying as the bad guy would be fine for both sides. The 'villains' would get a good laugh, the 'good guys' would just respawn, and they could even be friends despite being on opposing sides. Unfortunately, this _isn't_ normal." Kirito's grip tightened on his glass subconsciously. "It's _definitely_ not a game."

Kirito's aura of doom and gloom seemed to be contagious, causing Serena to offer Silica wordless support from the seat beside her. Ash noticed and nudged Kirito, prompting him to look up and see the effect of his words. "Oh, sorry."

A few seconds passed before Silica sat up straighter. "Well, I think you're a good guy! They saved me from those Apes and decided to help me bring Pina back, and they trust you – so I trust you too!" If Kirito's attitude had been contagious, hers was infectious, and he soon found himself smiling slightly as well.

"Would you look at that? You made him smile!" Ash interjected cheerfully. "We've been trying to get him to do that for months!" Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Oh, by the way, what's 'seducing?' Rosalia claimed Silica had done it to me, but I think she was just trying to get a reaction…"

Noticing the look of indignation on Serena's face, Kirito couldn't help but be surprised how easy it was to fall back into their old teasing routine. "You know those times when Serena asks you to do something and you just can't find it in yourself to refuse? It's like that, but with less honorable intentions – they want you to think about how pretty they are so you _aren't_ thinking about what they want from you. And on that note, I think it's time for me to say good night." He stood up to leave, only to fall flat on his face when he tried to walk with his bootlaces tied together. _Strange… these boots aren't even supposed to_ have _laces!_ Replacing them with new boots from his Inventory, he performed a tactical retreat with what remained of his dignity.

"But what about your cheesecake?" Silica called after him.

He paused in the doorway to fire off one last jibe. "I'm sure Ash can handle an extra slice, especially if he's paying for it!"

"Yeah, sure…" Ash responded somewhat distractedly as the door closed. Curious, Serena sent a mental probe his way – only for him to immediately pull in his thoughts as if he didn't want her to see them.

 _It doesn't have anything to do with what Kirito just said, does it?_ she wondered, before realizing how out of character something like that would be for him. His reluctance to share his thoughts worried her, but she decided to trust him and dismiss her curiosity in favor of the delicious cheesecake that had just arrived. It was easier said than done, however, and the thought plagued her for the rest of the night.

During that time, Ash almost caught someone eavesdropping outside Serena and Silica's door while they were discussing strategies. The room with the single bed had originally belonged to the dragon tamer, but Ash had switched rooms with her so that the two girls would be in the same room. This had the added benefit of allowing him to try and work out his thoughts in privacy – something he was finding surprisingly hard in Serena's presence. Kirito's words kept bouncing around in his head, refusing to stay quiet.

 _Think about how pretty… can't refuse… less honorable intentions… Serena…_ He knew Kirito had just been teasing them, but he couldn't help but notice how accurate Kirito's words were for someone who hadn't talked to them in months. Now that he was actually paying attention, he had no idea how he hadn't noticed before. It wasn't just the way her hair framed her face perfectly, the way her laugh could instantly lift his spirits, or the way her smile always lit up the room, though those were definitely not to be discounted. It was more subtle than that – the quiet confidence with which she carried herself, the honesty she displayed in her support and her disapproval, and the dedication with which she had stayed by his side ever since their reunion in Santalune City, putting his welfare above her own. He felt an unusual warmth spreading throughout himself as he pondered, followed by the desire to operate in the same capacity for her.

This confused him, since he thought that sort of selfless consideration was how you were supposed to treat _all_ your friends. So why would he feel like he needed to treat Serena that way specifically? He tried asking Pikachu, but all the electric mouse was willing to say was a cryptic _"it's about time!"_

 _I need a walk,_ he decided, the five-paces-by-three-paces room too small for him to adequately calm himself down. Lost in thought, he almost failed to notice that his path would take him past Serena's room, where she would be explaining the specifics of their plans with that characteristic sweetness of hers… _Wait a minute, why's that guy outside their door?_ "Hold it right there!" he called, pushing his tumultuous thoughts to a back corner of his mind and sending a pulse of warning in to Serena. The interloper did not listen, instead choosing to flee down the stairs with their cloak swirling behind them.

Serena opened the door just as he reached it, Silica peering out worriedly from behind her. "What's the matter, Ash?"

"Somebody was standing right outside your door – I think they were trying to listen in."

"But isn't that impossible?" Silica interrupted timidly. "I mean, the door was closed, wasn't it?"

Ash sighed. "Unfortunately, people with a high enough Listening skill can unlock a different ability that lets you listen through doors. That's made it a lot harder for us to keep Pikachu and Fletchinder secret. It's usually only scouts or spies who use it, though… but who would be trying to spy on us?"

 _Do you think it was Kirito?_ Serena suggested. _He seemed especially interested when Silica mentioned we were helping revive Pina…_

 _No, this person's Aura felt different. I think Kirito knows this person's following Silica, and_ that's _who he's trying to find._ Noticing the look on Silica's face, he decided to try and reassure her. "Well, as one of my friends used to say, 'no need to worry.' With both of us there to back you up, you'll be perfectly fine."

"Now c'mon, let's get to bed. We've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow…" The door closed, and Ash returned to his room while composing a PM to Kirito. [ **Re: We Know What You're Doing** : Serena and I figured out why you've been watching Silica – you're tracking the people who are following her. We found out because one of them was trying to eavesdrop on us while we were discussing the Familiar Revival quest. If you want to catch them, I suspect they'll be trying to ambush us on our way back, and then you can spring your own trap.]

Kirito's reply came in just before he drifted off to sleep. [Nice deduction – you're more observant than I remember. Are you sure your username's Satoshi and not Sherlock? In all seriousness, though, thanks for the info. If you think you know where it'll happen, stop and give her a Teleport Crystal. I'll be following you guys at a distance so that I can figure out where the group plans to attack and make my own plans accordingly. See you in the morning.]

* * *

True to his word, Kirito was waiting in the town of Floria when they arrived, though he was dressed differently and pretending to be waiting for someone in order to not draw suspicion.

"So pretty…" Silica breathed out in awe.

Ash couldn't help but agree under his breath, a stray thought making its way out of the corner where he had shoved it the night before. "Yeah, she is…"

Serena met his gaze as Silica ran forward to smell a flower. "Did you say something, Ash?"

He scrambled to find an answer that wouldn't seem awkward. "I just, uh, guess I never really took the time to notice what was right in front of me when we were here helping the Clearers…" _Saved it!_

"Well, that's understandable – we were both worried about Kirito." she reassured him before Silica interrupted, having noticed the couples scattered all around the garden.

"Oh my gosh, I'm totally third-wheeling, aren't I?" Her question triggered an immediate embarrassed handwave from Serena, who denied the accusation with a slight tinge of disappointment. Ash didn't notice, as he was busy filing away the new unfamiliar term with the rest of his to-sort-later thoughts alongside the one that had escaped just before. By the time he had finished, the two girls were already walking in the direction of the Hill, and he hurried to catch up.

As they traveled, they came across a bridge with a grove of trees on the town's side. The rest of the path to the Hill seemed to be rather flat; not the best setting for a group to lie in wait. _This is it, then._ Ash slowed to a stop on the bridge and dug out a Teleport Crystal, holding it out to Silica.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"It's so you can escape if we happen to run into something _too large_ to handle." he said, putting emphasis where he did as a signal to Kirito. Sure enough, he immediately got a PM. [I agree. Now just keep her safe on the way; I'll handle here.]

 _Don't worry, we will._ Ash thought, dismissing the window with a swipe. "We want to revive Pina just as much as you do, so we won't make you use it unless it's a serious emergency. But if either of us tells you to use it, use it. No ifs, ands, or buts."

Silica closed her hand around the Crystal, still slightly unsure. "If you say so…"

* * *

"Does this count as an emergency?" the dragon tamer yelled frantically, currently being dangled from her ankles by a monster that strongly resembled a Cradily. Out of respect for the way the gravity engine affected clothing (especially skirts), Ash had turned around to watch their backs, leaving Silica under Serena's very capable supervision.

"Just stay calm!" the Performer called up to her. "You already have everything you need to beat it!"

Silica perked down slightly at this. "The power to believe in myself?"

"No, though that doesn't hurt either. I was talking about your dagger – I know you can use it a lot more effectively than wild flailing!"

Silica's flailing stilled. "Oh, you're right." she realized, feeling incredibly embarrassed. Once she had calmed down, it was almost child's play to take down the monster. While gravity may not have been kind to her upside-down skirt, it was even less kind when backing the force of a knife strike from fifteen feet in the air. Thanks to the collision programming, smooshing the plant's 'head' into a pulp was enough to slow her descent to a safe speed.

"See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Serena asked, notifying Ash that it was safe to turn around so they could move on.

As they continued on towards the Hill, they allowed Silica to handle most of the combat – both to help her regain her confidence and to let her get the majority of the XP. And as her confidence grew, so did her curiosity. "So how did you two meet your partners? I first met Pina when I was eating lunch. She seemed interested in my food, and when I gave her a peanut she decided to follow me. I called her Pina after my cat. I'm guessing Pikachu and Fletchinder are called that because of the sounds they make, but how did you go about taming them?"

 _"I take offense to that!"_ Pikachu _harrumph_ ed. _"If anyone's been doing the taming, it's been me keeping this idiot in line..."_

Ash ruffled Pikachu's fur. "Oh shush, you." He then performed a tactical translation for Silica. "He wants you to know that it's not taming, it's a partnership that we entered into after saving each other from a flock of angry birds. He does enjoy ketchup, though."

 _"I don't see how anyone could_ not _enjoy that heavenly tomato goodness."_ Pikachu confirmed, drooling slightly at the thought before he realized what he was doing.

"Fletchinder, on the other hand, we met when it stole a Berry from us." Serena added, debating how to tell the story without lying or giving up their secret. "It was very territorial at the time, but not overtly hostile – so we were able to convince it to come with us thanks to Ash's partner."

Silica's eyes were shining. "Wow, that's so cool! And you can understand them, too? I bet you worked with animals a lot in the real world, didn't you?"

"You're not wrong." Ash chuckled, sharing a slightly conspiratorial look with Serena before noticing something ahead of them. "Hey, that looks like the end of the path over there. I bet that's where we'll find the Revival Herb!" They broke into a run, the miniboss that appeared in their path little more than an afterthought due to the presence of two Clearers.

Silica arrived at the shrine-like construct first, and it began glowing as she entered the circle of pillars that surrounded it. A pale blue flower sprouted right in front of her eyes, causing her to halt almost reverently, fascinated at the new life unfolding before her.

"Go ahead, pick it up!" Serena encouraged her, breaking her out of her trance. As soon as she reached her hand out and touched the flower, it separated seamlessly from the stem, which vanished into polygons. More nervous than ever, she opened the item's description window.

[Pneuma Flower: Also known as the Revival Herb, this flower produces a unique nectar that can restore Player-bound creatures from Death's gate by drawing upon the strength of the bond between the Player and their Familiar. If the creature is simply near death, drinking the nectar is sufficient to resuscitate them; if their soul has been bound to a physical object, the nectar must be poured onto whatever token the Familiar has left behind.]

"All right, let's get back to town so you can revive Pina!" Ash said, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"But why can't we do it here?" Silica protested.

"It's better to do it in a Safe Zone, where we won't have to risk any monsters undoing all our hard work. After all, there's no guarantee Pina will be at full health when she comes back."

Silica could see the merit in his words, and so put the flower away for the journey back. The return went much more smoothly than their trip out – until they reached the bridge near the grove of trees. It appeared peaceful enough to the untrained eye, but Ash's Aura Vision revealed the presence of a squad of players hidden behind the trees (and one beneath the bridge that he recognized as Kirito). He stepped in front of the girls and held his arm out to halt their progress.

"Whoever's out there, show yourself!"

Rosalia emerged from behind the closest tree, eliciting a gasp from Silica. "Well, well, it seems you're not _quite_ as pathetic as I thought. Your Searching skill must be impressive to have seen through my Hiding skill…" Her gaze raked across the three of them, and she recognized the tremble of impatience in Silica's stance. "Ah, so I see you succeeded in obtaining the Pneuma Flower."

Her voice immediately became harsh. "Now, hand it over before anyone gets hurt."

"NO SUCH THING SHALL HAPPEN!" a voice boomed from seemingly everywhere at once. "MEDDLE NOT IN THE AFFAIRS OF A DRAGON AND ITS MASTER…"

Almost as an afterthought, it added, "FOR YOU ARE CRUNCHY AND TASTE GOOD WITH KETCHUP."

Rosalia's grip tightened on her spear haft. "Who said that?"

"IT IS I, THE GUARDIAN OF THIS BRIDGE. AND I SHALL NOT STAND FOR EXTORTION IN MY PRESENCE, NOR SHALL I ALLOW THE MURDER OF INNOCENT PLAYERS!"

That statement clearly struck a nerve, and her eyes darted around wildly. "I demand that you show yourself!"

"If you insist…" Kirito replied, using the handholds and footholds on the supporting columns to leap onto the bridge dramatically. "Well then, Rosalia, leader of the orange guild Titan's Hand, what have you to say for yourself?"

Silica was confused. "Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. How is her cursor still green?"

"The little dragon girl has a point, you know." Rosalia pointed out smugly, her confidence returning.

"Truly, your arrogance knows no bounds, exploiting the naïveté of a young child in that manner." Kirito riposted. "Do you think I am unaware of the tactics of your kind – those who remain unblamed by acting only as a lure for your targets?"

He noticed Silica's eyes widening, while Ash and Serena seemed torn between laughter at the hamminess of his performance and disgust with Rosalia's actions. "Your thoughts are truth, child; you were indeed a target. After all, how could they neglect the chance to target someone as high-profile as the legendary Beast Tamer?"

Each of his words visibly struck home, and the rose-haired woman finally dropped all pretense of civility. _"Fine."_ she snarled. " _Yes_ , I joined your party in order to see who would be worth stealing from – so imagine my surprise when I hear about you going on a quest for a rare item. I'm sure you'll agree that I couldn't just let this opportunity pass by." Her eyes then narrowed. "But something doesn't add up. For someone so supposedly powerful, you were still unable to prevent her from coming here. I bet you're little more than some vigilante wannabe with no skill to back up his words."

Kirito grinned. "So we're dropping the acts now, are we? Okay then, do you remember a guild called the Silver Flags that you targeted about ten days ago? The one whose leader got away?"

"Oh, you mean those idiots who had next to nothing of value? What of them?"

Kirito's gaze hardened. "The leader spent the next week pleading with whoever would listen, asking for _someone_ to help bring you to justice. But even he wasn't willing to stoop to your level; he just wanted you to go to prison. You should be thankful for that small mercy."

Rosalia laughed. "Who says that's a mercy? It's people like you who treat this as real that get on my nerves. After all, how do we even know that Kayaba guy was telling the truth about death? Besides, it's about time you started worrying about your own safety…"

A snap of her fingers, and her companions revealed themselves from behind the other trees. The sight of the other players made Silica nervous. "Don't you think we should get out of here?" she asked apprehensively.

"Don't worry." Ash reassured her. "Kirito's got it all under control." His unintentional name-drop sparked worried murmurs among Titan's Hand, as some of them knew of the Black Swordsman's reputation. One tried voicing his concern, but Rosalia laughed him off.

"Are you kidding? Why would a _frontliner_ of that caliber be down playing vigilante in an out-of-the-way dungeon seven floors down? Go on, take him out – and take everything he owns!"

Unwilling to disobey their leader and hoping that he would be easy prey, the players charged at Kirito with weapons glowing. Serena sighed, shaking her head. "We tried to warn you…"

The black-coated swordsman made no attempt to defend against any of their strikes, which gave the attackers extra confidence. But when five minutes passed with seemingly no change in his demeanor or his HP bar, that confidence began to wane.

"Man, you guys are out of shape." Kirito joked as they stood around him, panting. "Really oughtta do some cardio…"

"What are you idiots _doing?_ Just _kill_ him already!" Rosalia demanded in confusion.

"Like I said, it's not that easy. You guys can do what, 400 damage every 10 seconds? Even without factoring in my Battle Healing skill, it'd still take more than six minutes to kill me if I _didn't_ defend myself. And as it is, my skill heals me for 600 damage every 10 seconds – you could attack me all day and it'd still be pointless."

"What he's trying to say," Ash interrupted, "is that you can't beat him because his numbers are so much bigger than yours are."

"Aww c'mon, you ruined the dramatic buildup!" Kirito complained, making his attackers even more nervous. They had attacked him like that and he was _still_ cavalier enough to joke? As such, they were more than willing to cooperate when he took out a Corridor Crystal keyed to the jail and instructed them to go through and turn themselves in.

Rosalia, on the other hand, stubbornly refused to give in. "You can't force me to go through there – I'm a green player!" she shouted, leveling her spear at them. Before she could say anything more, however, an orange blur swept down from the sky and sliced her spear in two with steel-hardened wings before landing sharply on Serena's shoulder.

"Funny thing," the Performer commented after checking her and Ash's cursors. "If a creature allied with us attacks you because it wants to protect us, it does nothing to our own statuses. Are you sure you want to test the limits of Fletchinder's tolerance?"

" _Besides,_ " Kirito whispered in Rosalia's ear as he guided the shell-shocked player to the Corridor, " _I'm a solo – I can live with orange for a day or two if necessary._ "

Silence reigned for a few seconds after the portal closed, before Ash cut in with a cheeky comment. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't tell her we were frontliners too… Nice act, by the way. How'd you throw your voice like that?"

"Broadcast Crystal." Kirito replied, scaling one of the trees and retrieving the first of several small stones. "Every guild above a certain size gets one to help relay instructions on the battlefield, and I never got rid of it when it passed to me after the… the _Incident_." He hesitated slightly on the last word, clearly trying to remind himself of whatever it was that had allowed him to recover in the first place.

In an effort to distract himself, he changed topics. "So you're a Beast Tamer now?" he asked Serena, having taken note of where Fletchinder had roosted.

"Actually, they both are – that's why they decided to help me!" Silica piped up. "I don't know where Pikachu is, though…"

At Kirito's quizzical look, Ash explained again, calling Pikachu with a whistle. "We've been keeping it secret for…" (here he made a show of thinking) "…at least a month or two because we didn't know how people would react, which is why we tried to find Silica in the first place. Then we saw her in trouble and couldn't just stand by."

Kirito chuckled. "That definitely sounds like the two of you. I'm guessing that's Pikachu right there?"

"Yep, and he's the best buddy a guy could ask for. Pikachu, this is Kirito. Kirito, Pikachu."

 _"Greetings, complete and total stranger that I have never seen or met."_ Pikachu deadpanned, extending a paw to shake. _"Might I ask how your pajama-flavored toothpaste bagels are faring?"_

Kirito didn't understand a word, but shook Pikachu's paw anyway, wondering how Kayaba could have made an AI so lifelike. "Nice to meet you. I'd best be headed back to the front lines now, though – five days is quite a while to be away."

Suddenly, Silica grabbed his sleeve. "At least stay long enough to watch me revive Pina!"

He pushed her hand aside gently. "I wish I could, but I've got a lot I need to do by tonight. You can tell me all about it next time we meet, though. After all, I bet Ash and Serena are gonna stick around until you're powerful enough to fight on the front lines yourself."

"You got it!" Silica agreed, and Kirito pulled out a Crystal and teleported away. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get back to town and get Pina back!"

* * *

Silica was surprised how little attention they drew as they walked back to the inn. After all, having a bright yellow mouse on one's shoulder was hardly stealthy. She tried asking Ash, but he dismissed the question with a wave. "I would tell you why, but I'm not completely sure I understand myself – I'm more of an 'act first, think later' guy. That's why I'm glad Serena's in here with me, 'cause she likes to think before she acts. Plus she's an incredible cook, as you saw last night."

The young dragon tamer looked at him closely, and for a second he felt as if it was Bonnie staring at him. She opened her mouth to ask if that was the _only_ incredible thing about her, but the jingling of the bell above the inn door interrupted her. All thoughts of potential teasing vanished, and she hurried up the stairs, eager to bring Pina back. After Ash dragged a table into the center of the room, all five of them gathered around closely as Silica pulled out the feather and the flower.

None of them dared to breathe as the droplet of nectar fell towards Pina's remains, and the _ping_ of contact resonated throughout the entire room. For a second, it appeared as if nothing had happened, but then a bright blue glow erupted from the point of contact. It expanded to surround the feather in a sphere of light – before it brushed the tip of one of Fletchinder's feathers and subsequently morphed into a semi-solid egg shape. (Meanwhile, unseen by Clemont, a window flashed on his screen briefly that read [Type Analysis complete: Water/Dragon. Uploading compatible move list.].) The egg flashed briefly, a few cracks appearing at one end, and then burst to reveal a feathery blue dragon curled up on the table.

 _"Ugh… what happened?"_ Pina muttered groggily, surprising Ash and Serena. They hadn't expected to be able to understand the clicking and rumbling way she spoke the same way they could understand their Pokémon. _"I remember obeying my loyalty programming and attacking, then everything was a black blur, and now it appears as if my thoughts operate on a larger scale…"_ Suddenly, her eyes shot open in panic. _"Oh no – is Silica-_ kiir _okay?"_

Silica finally found her voice, having not even noticed her companion's sudden increase in verbosity. "Pina, you're back!" she cried, scooping the dragon up into her arms and hugging her tightly. Pina reciprocated, nuzzling her face in relief. "Thank goodness you're alright – I was so worried!"

 _"I am simply glad to hear you survived that dangerous ordeal."_ the dragon replied, pulling her head back to look Silica in the eye and catching a glimpse of Ash and Serena. _"I assume your survival was due to the presence of these_ kendovve _?"_

 _"That better not have been an insult…"_ Pikachu stated matter-of-factly, causing Pina to turn and look at him. Before she could clarify, however, Silica spoke up again.

"Oh yeah, you haven't met my new companions yet! That's Ash and Serena, who saved me with help from Pikachu and Fletchinder. Pikachu's the yellow one, and Fletchinder's the flying one."

Pina bowed respectfully. _"Well-met,_ sunvaar _. I owe you and your charges my gratitude."_

 _"Looks like somebody else knows who's really in charge here!"_ Pikachu snarked, eliciting a chuckle from Ash. _"But seriously, he watches out for me just as much as I do for him."_

Serena smiled as she watched. "What do you know – it looks like they're friends already!"

Silica turned to her, eyes gleaming happily. "That's so great! By the way, was Kirito telling the truth when he said you guys would help me train until Pina and I got to the front lines?"

"Of course!" Ash reassured her, ruffling her hair. "Like Serena said, we Trainers need to stick together! Maybe we should even make a guild or something…"

Silica was ecstatic. "Really? That'd be so cool! But what would we even call it?" That question led to a deluge of name-calling, each one generally stranger than the last. A few of them remained in the running (such as the Training Trio, the Animal Whisperers, and Creatures of Legend), but most, like Chu and Swallow ("What? I was hungry…") were immediately discarded. They took a short break for dinner after that suggestion, eventually settling on 'the Beast Brigade.' Their partners were slightly more skeptical of the choice, but were willing to forego the slight at their intelligence in favor of having a cool-sounding name.

With that decision made, the three went to bed in high spirits, looking forward to what the future held.

* * *

Omake: Ratted Out

* * *

Business was booming. It seemed no matter how many new secrets there were, another client was always willing to pay for each one – but that was exactly how Argo liked it. If she didn't want to sell something, she just jacked up the price until they stopped offering; being _the_ info broker gave her that power.

Which was why it was surprising when Kirito, of all people, tried selling a secret to _her_. [I just found out something Ash and Serena have been hiding for months – you interested in buying?]

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, composing a response as she sipped her drink. [Unless he finally wised up and asked her out, they don't have any secrets they haven't already sold me. The only thing of note they've done recently is ask about that beast tamer girl like everybody else, which I suspect you knew because why else would you have come into contact with them?]

His reply came in within a few short seconds. [Now that I think about it, it's not gonna stay secret longer than another day or two, so I may as well tell you. They're Beast Tamers too. And really good ones at that, if they were able to pull the wool over even the Rat's eyes…]

Suddenly, having the drink didn't seem like the best choice for her dignity – spraying a mouthful of fluid onto the wall six feet away is, admittedly, not the most socially-acceptable way to demonstrate surprise, even if it does disappear into polygons immediately afterwards.

[Congratulations,] she replied, brain whirling with the implications of this new tidbit. [You are now one of the select few to surprise me with a new secret that I knew nothing about. As a reward for your accomplishment, the information you purchased about Titan's Hand has been made free of charge.]

Argo sent the message before retreating to her room to speculate in privacy. Not only did this mean Beast Taming was _not_ a Unique Skill, it allowed connections to be drawn where there previously were none – and for each new connection, there would be another client willing to purchase. To top it all off, Kirito seemed to be one step closer to his old self. _Yes_ , she decided, _business is good today_.


	10. Chapter 9

**.**

 **A Rise to Fame**

(ME1 "Progressors")

* * *

"…and then it started glowing blue and turned into an egg that hatched into Pina, who made friends with Pikachu and Fletchinder, and then we made a guild and we've been training super-hard so now I can fight monsters on Floor 49 by myself!" Silica gushed excitedly, having taken Kirito's 'tell me all about it next time we meet' quite literally. If it had been a normal day, Kirito would have been listening attentively, ready to offer congratulations and encouragement – but as it was, he had other things on his mind.

"That's great." he offered half-heartedly, watching Pina clean herself with a shower of Bubbles.

Serena (who had sensed his mood when he arrived but didn't want to interrupt Silica mid-story) chose that moment to intercede. "What is it? What's wrong? And don't try and say it's nothing…"

Kirito sighed. "If I didn't want to talk about it, I wouldn't have come here. I wanted to ask if the two of you could come talk some sense into Asuna."

"Why, what's she doing?"

"You heard about the failed attempts to beat the Field Boss on Floor 56, right?" At the trio's nods, he continued. "After the most recent one, distracting it with food, turned out to be a bust, Asuna suggested letting it into the city so it'd be too busy killing NPCs to fight us."

"But that's stupid!" Ash interjected hotly. "NPCs deserve to live just as much as we do – why would Kayaba put in a way to bring back familiars, which most players would say are less important progress-wise than NPCs, but still consider the NPCs expendable?"

The corners of Kirito's mouth rose slightly. "I don't think I would have thought about it from that angle, and I bet Asuna didn't either. It'd probably be more convincing if you told her in person, though. You up for a visit to the front lines, Silica? I think it's about time the assault team heard about the Beast Brigade…"

The dragon tamer looked at Ash and Serena, who nodded in confirmation. "Don't worry. As long as you stay with our group, you should be a high enough level to stay safe." Serena told her, eliciting a squeal of excitement.

"Pina, did you hear? We're going to get to see the front lines!"

When the dragon heard Silica's words, she jumped onto the girl's head and fixed Kirito with a calculating stare. _"If Silica-_ kiir _comes to harm through any fault of yours, rest assured that my_ nahkriin _shall pursue you forever."_ she warned, just as she had warned the two trainers when they first formed the guild.

Though he did not understand the words, Pina's meaning stood out clearly. "I promise I'll do my best to help keep Silica safe. I've already made that mistake once – and I _never_ will again."

Satisfied by the sincerity in his eyes, Pina nodded and returned to her debate with Pikachu about whether peanut butter or ketchup was the superior condiment.

* * *

Once again, Ash had to hand it to Kayaba – the man knew how to design landscape. The town of Fennas Imlad, which the players were using as a base, stood at one end of a long mountain valley, a set of massive iron gates barring passage between the two. There was an ominous air about the entire place, every aspect of it screaming _fortress_. If one stood above the gates and strained their eyes to observe the other end of the valley, they would see why it had to be so.

At the other end of the valley, it opened up into a massive field, which held the entrance to the floor's dungeon. That was not what made it dangerous, though; said honor belonged to the massive creature currently resting in the field. The Field Boss, which vaguely resembled a massive Scolipede with the armor of a Steelix, was approximately the height of a one-story house and the length of a small city block. It kept its head low to the ground, so as not to expose its softer underbelly to assailants, and it refused to let any players past into the field. If they had been able to make it into the open area, they likely would have beaten it already, but the narrow valley walls made flanking maneuvers of that sort impossible.

As Kirito had mentioned, the most recent attempt to beat it (which he and Klein had oh-so-perfectly dubbed the "Grand Meaty Meat" plan) involved trying to keep it occupied in the field with an A-class food ingredient while the players made their way into the field. Unfortunately, the Geocrawler seemed to be more partial to the taste of humans than their food. The "GMM episode," as the other frontliners were now derisively calling it (with an accompanying suggestion that the two guys would be more productive as talk show hosts than strategists), only lasted between 10 and 15 minutes before it took a U-turn down the tubes, and tensions were now running high.

Asuna herself was not a part of the name-calling; instead, she spent the time trying to convince the others of the merits of letting the Boss into the city to fight it. "…For one thing," she was telling another player as Ash and Serena approached, "it won't be able to maneuver so easily in the tight streets, giving us a chance to attack from the alleyways. Plus, the more NPCs it targets, the fewer of us will get hurt."

The player in question felt quite nervous. After all, this was the "Lightning Flash" Asuna of the KoB speaking, and her argument was very strategically sound. On the other hand, the "Black Beater" Kirito (who was rumored to have taken down a mid-level orange guild single-handedly) was firmly against the slaughter of the NPCs – so no matter which side he chose, he would be potentially alienating one of the two opposing "Kiri/Suna" factions. To top it off, he had narrowly avoided being killed by the monster himself the previous afternoon. He glanced around frantically, looking for an escape, and his gaze rested on the approaching trio and the creatures accompanying them.

Having not heard the rumors of the players with Tamed Monsters, he felt his brain go into overdrive as his eyes widened in surprise. "WHAT ARE THOSE?!" he yelled, shakily pointing at Pikachu, Pina, and Fletchinder before his stress finally overwhelmed him. The last thing he saw as he fainted was, oddly enough, Asuna's shoes.

Just before he collapsed, Asuna turned skeptically to look – and was pleasantly surprised to see Ash and Serena approaching. The other player now forgotten, she jogged over to meet them. "Ash, Serena, how are you guys? I haven't seen you on the front lines for a few weeks… If I didn't know better, I'd say you joined a guild or something!"

"As a matter of fact, yes we did." Serena informed her. "After meeting Pikachu and Fletchinder, who you can see sitting on our shoulders, we came across Silica here and helped her revive her own partner. We decided to train together, and formed a guild to make it official. Asuna, meet Silica, the youngest member of the Beast Brigade. Silica, this is Asuna, the second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath."

"Nice to meet you!" Silica chimed in, wondering how someone as nice as Asuna seemed could be promoting the sacrifice of NPCs. "This is my partner, Pina." Pina made a noncommittal chirping noise, deciding to withhold judgment until she had a chance to further evaluate the character of this _kinbok_.

"Nice to meet you, too. So, what are you guys doing here? No offence, but I don't think her equipment is quite level-appropriate for this floor – and you're not the kind of people who would leave a guild member behind, so I doubt you're here to fight."

"No, Kirito asked us to talk to you about your NPC plan." Ash answered.

Asuna held up a hand to forestall him, her demeanor suddenly heavy. "I already know what you're going to say, and I've heard it from Kirito already," she sighed, sounding very much like a businesswoman. "I get where you're coming from, but one of the lessons my father taught me in the real world was about knowing when to make sacrifices for the good of the organization. If you have to shut down one branch, you should make it the one that causes the least damage, which in this case is the NPCs. They're just computer programs that can be recreated, but people's minds can't."

"But if you think that way about NPCs, what about players' Familiars like Pina?" Serena asked. "Like Ash told Kirito earlier, why would Kayaba put in a way to bring back familiars if he didn't think they were important? And if they're important enough to keep alive, why wouldn't NPCs be too?"

"I don't _know_ , okay?" Asuna snapped, the stress in her mind finally making its way to the surface. "How about _you_ try handling the anxiety that comes with directing a guild full of dozens of teenage and adult guys who all think they know better than you while trying to keep them safe _and_ seem like a strong leader even though your first real friend refuses to go along with the only plan you can think of that minimizes collateral damage and you can't just abruptly change your mind without losing face? I bet you wouldn't do so well if you were in my position…"

Thankfully, Serena had noticed the stress beforehand and made sure not to take anything personally. In fact, she had deliberately been exuding an aura of _just say what you feel, I'll still be your friend no matter what you say_ in order to encourage Asuna to get it out of her system. She was still extremely thankful, however, for the wordless support Ash offered by placing his hand on her shoulder.

Pina had seen the stress building as well, and began to Sing a calming melody that she had devised in the weeks since her reawakening. Her song took on a physical form, a series of multi-colored musical notes floating from her mouth over to the agitated Clearer. Each one induced a feeling of relaxation, and had she not cut off after a few measures it would have afflicted Asuna with the Sleeping status.

As it was, Asuna was merely brought down from her cortisol-induced state of agitation to a normal operational state. "Thanks, I needed that." she admitted. "I hope I didn't upset you with any of that. I just had a lot on my mind and felt like I had to say it to _someone_."

"What do you think having other girl-friends is for?" Serena reassured her. "It'll take more than that to make me upset at you. And you're right – I _don't_ think I'd do nearly as well as you if I were in your place."

Suddenly, a metaphorical lightbulb lit up above Ash's head. He had been thinking about what Asuna had said in order to give his own brand of encouragement, and her use of _can't_ had caught his attention. _Is there a way for her to give in without seeming weak? …wait a minute, that's it!_ "Hey, Asuna!" he called, attracting everyone's attention. "I have an idea. You know how Kirito is known for his incredible fighting skills? Well, why not challenge him to a battle? You're definitely strong enough to not go down without a fight, and losing against him won't make you look weak. And if you win, you can still say something about his conviction impressing you…"

Serena saw the idea take root in Asuna's mind and decided to give it a slightly unorthodox push. "You better take his advice." she said, a teasing tone making its way into her voice. "It's the best idea he's had all month, and who knows when he'll think that hard again?"

"Hey, I've been thinking hard all month!" Ash protested, only to feel uncharacteristically nervous when he remembered exactly what (or rather _who_ ) he had been trying to organize his thoughts about. Not in the mood to deal with those feelings while trying to help a friend, he closed the door to his mental _Serena Thoughts_ room and made his way back to the _Friend I'm Helping Right Now_ parlor (the different 'rooms' in his mind being a meditation technique Korrina's Lucario had suggested last time they talked with Clemont). "And while you do that, I'll try and think up a new strategy for you guys – I've been told I have a knack for thinking outside the box."

"You sure do…" Serena chuckled, remembering his Draco Meteor Climb technique from Cyllage City, and of which he had attempted a horizontal variation using Nicholas the Renegade's exploding presents. "But don't worry, Asuna. I'll make sure his plan isn't too crazy."

"Thanks, guys." Asuna said, bowing in gratitude. "Your help means a lot to me – and I mean that." She immediately ran off, presumably to locate Kirito.

That presumption was proven correct not five minutes later, when Ash received a confused PM from Kirito. [I thought you said you would talk to Asuna and convince her _not_ to do the NPC plan! So why did she just publicly challenge me to a duel at 9:00 AM tomorrow to see whose plan would win?]

[We convinced her to stall while we try to think of a better plan, and that was the best way we knew of.] Ash replied. [Don't worry, we'll definitely be there to cheer you on!]

* * *

At exactly 9:15 the next morning, Ash's eyes shot open. _Shoot, I overslept again!_ He hurriedly changed out of his pajamas, thankful that the game did not simulate the need to use the bathroom as part of one's wake-up actions. _Why didn't you wake me up earlier?_ he asked Serena, noticing that she was already over near the town square.

 _We forgot to give me or Silica permission to unlock your room yesterday,_ she responded. _I tried waking you up this way and almost fell back asleep myself, so the two of us decided to go on ahead without you. If you hurry, you can still make it in time for the end, though._

And hurry he did. He didn't even bother taking the stairs, instead jumping out the window at the end of the hallway down into the vacant street, softening his landing with a brief burst of Aura, and immediately dashing off again. As he ran, he almost regretted having gone on that late walk the night before while Serena and Silica had their "girl time," since it had not managed to provide a boost to his planning abilities. He had tried asking NPCs for hints but had heard nothing more than part of an odd lullaby, causing him to stay up for hours wondering how it could possibly help.

"Over here, Ash!" Serena called him as he came into view, waving him over. The swordsman and the fencer in the makeshift duel arena were still going at it hammer and tongs, neither of them having managed to land a firm strike on the other. While being able to read one another's movements almost flawlessly was a great boon when fighting side-by-side, it also made it very hard to prevent each other from countering their moves.

"How much did I miss?" Ash asked, breathing slightly heavier than usual as he made his way to the seat she had saved for him.

"Not much – it's basically been like this the entire time." She shifted slightly to turn and face him. "Did something happen last night while you were out walking? I was going to ask you this morning, but you were so asleep that I doubted you would have woken up even if Pikachu attacked you with Thunderbolt…"

 _"You have no idea how accurate that was. He's lucky this is a Safe Zone, or his HP would be red right now."_ Pikachu grumbled, but Ash wasn't listening.

The last piece of the puzzle clicked into place, and he impulsively reached forward and gave Serena a massive hug. "Serena, you're a genius!" Almost immediately, cheers broke out from the crowd watching the duel, and Serena eagerly grabbed the opportunity to avert her burning face in favor of seeing what had happened.

Apparently, Kirito had managed to disarm Asuna using some kind of Outside-System Skill – but he had executed it so quickly that nobody nearby could tell Ash and Serena how he had done it. After he did so, Asuna forfeited, claiming that she would not have been able to rearm herself in time. Those who had supported her plan were disappointed but accepted the verdict without excessive complaining, especially when Kirito informed them that an alternative strategy was in the works and would be announced once the strategy was finalized.

As the spectators left, Kirito and Asuna walked over to the little group. "Thanks for the duel suggestion." Kirito said, re-sheathing his Elucidator. "Any luck on the new strategy you said you were working on?"

"Actually, I came up with a great one – and all thanks to Serena! C'mon, this way!" He ran off towards the edge of the city, not noticing in his excitement that he had grabbed hold of Serena's hand to help guide her as they ran. The other three _did_ notice, though, and simultaneously wondered out loud how he could be so oblivious as they began following.

The group soon came to a stop outside an NPC house, which indicated that whatever the plan was, it had to do with the particular NPC (or NPCs) that lived there. Kirito breathed a sigh of relief that Asuna's strategy hadn't been carried out, as it would likely have made this new plan impossible. His fears were then confirmed when he saw exactly _which_ NPC it was: Lulu, the young girl who had seemed oddly interested in their attempts to defeat the Geocrawler. As both a child and an NPC, her stats were likely on the level of a beginning player, which meant that she would have probably been one of the first to die.

As Lulu came out of the house to meet them, Ash turned his attention to Asuna. "Hey, Asuna – remember how Pina managed to help calm you down yesterday by Singing?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

He responded with a secretive smile. "You'll see. Hey Lulu, do you mind singing that lullaby from last night for my friends?"

"Sure!" the girl chirped happily, before she began to sing.

 _"A musician from the southern lands_

 _With singing instrument in his hand_

 _As the notes flow east and west_

 _All who hear are called by rest_

 _"From chiefs with beards that grace their faces_

 _To greedy men who sell swords and maces_

 _From children running in the square_

 _To rooftop cats with pitch-black hair_

 _"A bird that sings its own sweet song_

 _A serpent in its armor strong_

 _None shall their awakeness keep_

 _Hush now, all, and go to sleep."_

"You all heard that line about the armored serpent, right?" Ash pointed out. "Doesn't it seem like an odd line for a lullaby?"

Kirito's eyes widened. "You're right!" he exclaimed quietly. "Does that mean we can put the Boss to sleep using that song in order to get past it into the field?"

"It's worth a try, isn't it?" Ash answered. "Pikachu and Fletchinder can move a lot faster than players thanks to their special attacks, so if we send them in ahead they can distract it long enough for a musician to get into place and start playing that song."

 _"Finally – I was wondering when I would be able to take a major role in a fight again!"_ Pikachu celebrated from Ash's shoulder. _"Ain't nobody gonna steal my thunder this time! And yes, that pun was intentional."_

Fletchinder performed the closest approximation of a facepalm that it could as Pina flew over to Lulu's shoulder. _"If my fellow_ sunvaar _are partaking in this venture, I wish to play a part as well. Might it be reasonable for me to add this song to my repertoire, that I may be the one to calm the_ vahlok _?"_

Silica chuckled. "It sounds like Pina wants to help too! I don't know how, though, since I'm too low of a level to fight the Floor Boss."

"Maybe you don't need to be." Asuna reassured her. "Whenever there's been a puzzle boss in the past, the Cardinal System gave XP to the people who solved the puzzle even if they weren't part of the attack squadron – so if Pina wants to sing the song for us, you can stay back at the edge where you won't get hurt. That way, Ash and Serena can help with the fighting without having to leave you behind."

Kirito finally found his voice again. "Well, it looks like we've found our musician then… Now all that's left is to see how well this plan works."

* * *

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the plan was initially met with protests – but those abruptly vanished when Pina put the naysayers to sleep, proving her abilities. For those who were still skeptical, the line about the "serpent in its armor strong" was enough to convince them to give the plan a try. Klein was especially vocal in his support, reminding the others that Ash and Serena had the unique perspective of both frontliners _and_ Beast Tamers and so would have the best idea of anyone whether or not there was a chance of success.

As a result, the vast majority of the front-line players were assembled in the valley at 6:00 that evening just beyond the boundaries of the Geocrawler's range of detection. To avoid alerting it with echoes, the assault team remained as silent as possible – which meant they were all watching Silica when she gave the signal to begin. _Five… four… three… two… one…_

At Silica's signal, Pikachu charged forward in a Quick Attack, surprising many of the players with his speed. Fletchinder was slightly slower (as Flame Charge provided a more gradual boost than the instant speed of Quick Attack), but its speed was still nothing to sneeze at. In addition, the pocket of lower pressure behind it allowed Pina to accelerate more quickly than she would have otherwise.

The Geocrawler only barely had time to react before it received an Iron Tail to the face, followed by a solid hit from Flame Charge. It vaguely sensed the other players approaching, but that fire attack had _hurt_! The best thing to do, it decided, was to destroy the flying nuisance before the players became a threat.

Having so resolved, it turned to track Fletchinder, ignoring Pikachu's strikes against its steel-hard carapace. That turned out to be a mistake, though, as a point-blank Thunder Wave forced it to freeze in place for a few seconds – long enough for Pina to land on its head and Sing the lullaby. It made a few half-hearted attempts to lunge at Fletchinder, but soon enough the special song triggered its programming flag and it crashed to the ground asleep.

A cheer rang out from the advancing players, and they charged forward to finish the job. Now that it was not shielding itself or cornering them in the valley, its weak underbelly was exposed quite visibly, and so most of the Clearers focused their strikes on that portion. They briefly pulled back when its last health bar hit the red, but the Geocrawler remained asleep until a lack of existence rendered sleeping impossible.

Asuna's prediction was correct, and Pina's aid in defeating the Boss gained Silica an entire level's worth of XP, along with about 125 Skill Points in Familiar Communication. It also resulted in a flood of attention from the other players, directed not only at her but at the other two members of her guild as well. She fielded the questions as well as she could, but eventually she was overwhelmed.

As if Serena knew what Silica was thinking (which, unknown to the dragon tamer, she actually did), she and Ash made their way through the crowd and escorted Silica back to Fennas Imlad. Strangely enough, nobody seemed to spare them a second glance even though almost everybody seemed to want to talk to them – _just like back when we were reviving Pina_ , she realized. If they hadn't been directly addressing her, even she would have probably overlooked them! _I have so much more to learn…_ she thought, giving Pina an affectionate _skritch_ on the chin as they returned to their hotel room.

By the end of the game, word of their exploit that day had spread far enough (and gained enough embellishments, as stories are wont to do) that even players on the first floor had heard tell of the players who led an army of monsters to utterly decimate a Floor Boss half the size of the entire floor – but that is their story to tell, not mine.

* * *

Omake: I'm Sure You All Are Wondering This Too

* * *

 _"Okay, I have to ask. Why do you always talk like that?"_ Pikachu said idly as Serena instructed Silica in dagger-fighting techniques.

 _"I do not understand. Which of my speech patterns enflames your curiosity?"_

 _"You just did it again – that's exactly what I'm talking about! Why do you always sound so formal when you talk?"_

Pina looked at him oddly. _"Dragons are majestic creatures, and it is customary that our speech reflect our proud heritage."_ She only became further confused when Pikachu started cackling uproariously. _"Why do you find my statement so amusing?"_

 _"Remind me to introduce you to Gible sometime."_ Pikachu finally managed, wiping a speck of moisture away from his eye. _"His speech was anything_ but _refined, especially when apologizing for a misfired Draco Meteor. Not in the vulgar sense, though; he just tended to get his words mixed up when he got excited or embarrassed – which was a lot of the time, come to think of it."_

As he was speaking, something in his explanation caught Pina's interest. _"Pardon the interruption, but what is this 'Draco Meteor' technique you speak of? I assume that your friend Gible lives where you were before you embarked upon this journey with your_ zeymahzin _Satoshi…"_

It took Pikachu a moment to formulate an acceptable reply. _"Sort of, but_ things _happened and I can't talk to him to get advice about explaining it any more. I do have a friend that can give you advice on how to use a move called Dragon Pulse that I can talk to, though."_

Pina nodded respectfully. _"Say no more. I too have acquaintances who have passed beyond reach, as I nearly did myself. I will, however, gratefully accept any instruction you manage to procure on the 'Dragon Pulse' technique. As such, I shall detain you from asking Satoshi-_ deinmaar _for permission to visit this friend no longer."_

Pikachu left to talk to Ash, but paused to call back, _"I still need to ask you what all those odd words you use mean some time!"_

 _"And you shall – just remain content that none so far have held malicious meaning."_ As Pikachu exited the room, Pina settled down to preen her feathers. After all, diction was not the only thing a dragon was supposed to keep refined; a clean, well-groomed appearance was also indispensable. Messiness was for slimes, not for dragons.


	11. Chapter 10

**.**

 **It's Detective Time! Part 1**

(Ep 05)

* * *

The issue had now come full circle. Whereas the last time this had happened Kirito was trying to recruit them to convince Asuna of something, this time Asuna was the one asking for help with Kirito.

[Can one of you come kick some sense into this insufferable idiot?] her PM asked. [He seems to have gotten it into his head that he can just slack off under a tree while the rest of us are slaving away in the Boss Labyrinth trying to get to Floor 60, and it's driving me nuts! It is in a safe zone, so you won't have to worry about Silica being in danger – please?]

As he composed a reply, Ash chuckled. [We don't really have room to talk, you know. The two of us have been out enjoying the weather all morning while Silica plays with Pikachu, Pina, and Fletchinder in the field nearby – it's too nice out to be cooped up in a gloomy old dungeon all day! Plus she had some energy to burn off, so we figured _why not_? Something I've learned is that sometimes you need to relax if you're going to be at the top of your game, and it sounds like Kirito knows that too. It's important to make the most of where you are now, not wear yourself out worrying about the future. Especially if you've been working yourself to the bone lately, like we heard you have…]

[If you're worried about your reputation,] Serena added a few seconds later, [just make up some kind of official sounding excuse. For example, what we're doing could be called "Supervision of Familiar-Bonding Exercises" just as easily as "enjoying nature together and watching Silica play outside."]

Several moments passed before another response came in. [I suppose you have a point.] the KOB vice-commander conceded, her message sounding almost conniving. [He _did_ just fall asleep, and it wouldn't do for our most valuable solo player to be sleep PK'ed when I could have prevented it by guarding him…] A post-script soon followed, addressed specifically to Serena. [P.S. You could also call it a date, couldn't you? I doubt Silica needs _that_ much supervision.]

Ash looked over at her, catching the brief flare of emotion before she managed to suppress it. _Was there something else she forgot to tell us?_ he asked, unwilling to interrupt the comfortable silence in the air by speaking aloud.

There was another, smaller flare of that same emotion (which he would not have noticed if he had not been looking for it) before she replied. _If you have things you don't want to tell me, can't I do that too?_

He barely stopped himself from replying something like _I *do* want to, I just haven't figured out what they mean yet and I can't ask you for help because they involve you_ and settled instead for an _I guess you're right._ Noticing her start to nod off slightly, he decided to keep her from falling over by wrapping an arm around her shoulders – and was understandably somewhat surprised when she decided in her half-asleep state to lean on his shoulder instead. He couldn't truthfully say it was uncomfortable, though, which prompted him to file that new piece of information in the appropriate mental room (which had expanded from a storage room into a hallway with an alcove at the end, now separated from the rest of his mind by a hanging curtain instead of a closed door). After finding an appropriate place on the shelves, he prepared to exit his 'memory mansion,' only for the sound of Pina's Singing to finally put him to sleep as well.

Meanwhile, out in the world of Aincrad, Silica was busy snapping pictures with a Recording Crystal, hoping that this would finally push them to realize what she thought was obvious from the beginning. And if a copy or two happened to make its way to Kirito or their redheaded samurai friend, who was she to stand in the way of potential blackmail material?

* * *

Two floors higher, Kirito woke up from his brief nap and began stretching. _I guess this means nothing came of her threat to get those two to convince me…_ he thought, deactivating the 'physical-contact wakeup' modification that he had chosen for his Searching/Detection skill. Its original purpose was to allow for quick naps in dungeons without the need for a Safe Zone, but it also had the added benefit of preventing PKers from manually forcing sleeping players into accepting Total-Loss Duels. Ever since that method of Player Killing had arisen, Kirito had made sure to always activate his Alert skill-mod whenever there was a chance he would fall asleep in public –

…just like Asuna had apparently done. He doubted she knew about the alert system, though, which meant she had absolutely no protection against Sleep PKers. And while some of the more muleheaded know-it-alls in the KOB may have hoped that it would come to pass so they wouldn't have to listen to her anymore, Kirito knew that letting her die would be a severe tactical blunder ( _plus, she looks cuter when she's relaxed,_ a corner of his mind whispered unnoticed, having been drowned out by the _I swore not to let any of my friends die again_ ). Since he didn't have a Stretcher to move her to a building where duels were off limits, which could also be misinterpreted as an attempt at the _other_ method of Sleep PKing, the only logical choice was to stand guard until she woke up.

The next several hours passed slowly, which if not for the perfect weather would have made him incredibly bored. As it was, he decided to take the time to further grind Searching by trying to detect passersby from as far away as possible. The thought crossed his mind soon after that the sight of him and Asuna alone in a field together would spark gossip, and so to save them both the embarrassment he assumed a stereotypical guarding position (sword in the ground and arms crossed in front of him while he stood in front of her) whenever onlookers were nearby.

His fears about potential gossip-mongers turned out to be well-founded, as he occasionally caught sight of somebody disappointedly stowing away a Recording Crystal when they saw him. At one point Argo stopped by to _deliver_ him one, claiming "it wouldn't be long now before she won the bet, and was she going to have to start one with Klein about him now?"

Initially, her comment confused him – until he saw the snapshots of Ash and Serena snoozing on a bench together, Silica flashing a "victory" symbol in the foreground with a proud-looking Pina sitting on her head. _I suppose that's why Asuna couldn't get any support from them,_ he thought while simultaneously letting out a groan at Argo's insinuation. " _Seriously_ , Argo? The entire reason I'm guarding her like this is to _keep_ rumors like that from going around. Besides, what makes you think Silica didn't wait for them to fall asleep or have Pina put them to sleep and then stage this?"

The Rat thumbed her nose at him impertinently as she left. "I wasn't paid to tell you that, Ki~bou. Enjoy having missed lunch!"

As soon as she finished that statement, his stomach loudly made its displeasure known. Unfortunately, since he hadn't been on a long-term dungeon crawl, he only had just enough food on him to take the edge off his hunger – so by the time Asuna woke up, he was feeling extremely peckish. Pushing it aside, he greeted her as she awoke. "Morning, Asuna. Sleep well?" He immediately cringed, both because he realized that it wasn't morning anymore and because she now had a hand on the hilt of her rapier.

It took Asuna a few seconds to gain her bearings as she woke up. The last thing she remembered, she had been watching to make sure nobody Sleep PKed Kirito, and now there was somebody looming over her while _she_ was asleep! She instinctively reached for her sword before realizing that said person was Kirito, who seemed to be keeping an eye out around them like she had originally been doing. Her thoughts jumbled themselves together in her sleep-addled mind, switching rapidly between embarrassment that he saw her asleep like that, gratitude for being allowed to sleep as long as she did, and the memory of her anger with him from beforehand.

"…One meal." she finally managed to say. "Wherever you want, all you can eat, and I'll pay. Then we're even, got it?"

 _Argo must have been rubbing off on me again_ , Kirito realized belatedly, unable to stop his next statement from escaping. "A free meal wherever I want? Maybe I should watch you sleep more often – I'll eat like a king! Or at least a very wealthy janitor… Relax, I'm just kidding." he placated, seeing her face go through some rather impressive contortions. "If you don't care about the rumors that may sprout, there's an NPC restaurant down on Floor 57 that has some pretty good food."

Asuna finally schooled her features back into an impassive mask, voice taking on a slightly sing-song quality. "I don't see _what_ kind of rumors you think those might be. All I'm doing is fulfilling my end of a bargain: you guard me against Sleep PKers, and I pay you with a meal. Exactly _when_ we made the bargain is unimportant."

A conspiratorial grin made its way onto Kirito's face as they made their way to the Teleport gate. "My thoughts exactly."

* * *

As the trio of Tamers traveled through town that evening, stomachs full of Serena's delicious picnic supper, Ash noticed that the players seemed to be whispering slightly more than normal. From what he could tell, it sounded like some sort of celebrity was in town – which worried him for a second. A quick check with Serena reassured him that yes, their standard "attention deflection" aura was active, and no, they weren't the "celebrities" being discussed. Now curious, he strained his ears to try and figure out who aside from them would be down on this floor. He thought he heard the word "flash" at one point, but quickly discarded that information when he heard the scream from the direction of the town center.

Serena had obviously heard it too, and she immediately sent Fletchinder ahead to find the specific location as they began running. The avian Pokémon soon reported back with the news that a player had been hung from a balcony with no perpetrator visible, and (due to a patch meant to balance out the autonomy of the Pokémon, which they had discovered several days ago) it needed a direct order to cut the rope holding him aloft. The patch had been implemented to prevent Beast Tamers from training their Familiars to damage other players' goods and then release them to wreak havoc – without direct orders, Familiars could not inflict damage within a Safe Zone's boundaries (temporarily suspended during duels, of course). And while, in general, this was a good idea, in this case it nullified the usefulness of Fletchinder's early arrival.

Ash immediately gave the order and stretched out his Aura senses to follow Fletchinder's progress. He could sense a large gathering of Aura signatures up ahead, the glow that was Fletchinder rapidly approaching the group – and suddenly, just as Fletchinder reached the crowd, its glow dimmed slightly. At his side, Serena stumbled slightly, having not expected the sudden wave of fear that now emanated from the crowd.

Said fear was accompanied by a familiar sense of determination, indicating that Kirito had witnessed the event and was now trying to hunt down the perpetrator.

"Everyone, look for the player with the winner icon!" he said as the trio burst onto the scene. His instructions were futile, though, as no such icon appeared. Serena attempted to scan the crowd for emotions of satisfaction, but the strongest emotion she could find was from a very nervous young woman with bluish-purple hair who seemed to be having trouble pulling herself together. She tried sending a subtle suggestion of _did you kill that person_ over to the other player, who reacted with a spike of indignation and a clear sense that she would never do such a thing before looking around in surprise. Satisfied with her innocence yet unsatisfied with their preliminary results, the three made their way over to Kirito.

The beta-tester in question had headed up to the room where Asuna was investigating, the spear he had extracted from the ground in his hand. He knew that Ash and Serena's group hadn't arrived until the aftermath, so his question was directed to her. "So what do you think happened?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Asuna countered. "He was in a duel, someone stabbed him with that spear and then hung him from that noose. All the evidence is right there, and there's no other way his HP would have dropped."

Her argument didn't quite make sense to Silica, though. "But then why did nobody have a 'duel winner' icon? Nobody ran away to hide it, or else Fletchinder would have told us and then chased after them."

Kirito chuckled grimly. "From the mouths of children, as they say. But if that's true, that means we're dealing with an entirely new PK method. And until we can figure it out, people could be in just as much danger inside the Safe Zones as they are outside."

Asuna swiftly came to a decision and composed a PM to Heathcliff. [Will be unavailable until further notice. Investigating potential Safe Zone PKs on lower floors; information need-to-know only. No official partners necessary – they would draw unnecessary attention.] Sending it off, she stood up and walked over to Kirito. "Well, it seems we won't be heading back to the front lines any time soon. I'm altering your contract."

Kirito was lost for a few seconds. "Wait, what?"

"You're gonna work with me while we figure this out – and until that happens, we don't have time for frivolous pursuits like napping."

"Fair enough." Kirito agreed, reaching out to shake her proffered hand. As he did, though, he remembered something. "Hold on, what about my supper? I was really craving that steak dinner…"

His hand was immediately crushed by Asuna's vice-like grip. "I'm altering the deal." she reminded him in no uncertain terms. "Pray I don't alter it any further."

"We'll help where we can too." Ash cut in, attempting to somewhat alleviate the tension. "This sort of incident happens around me all the time, so I may as well help try to figure it out like usual."

Pina chirped an agreement that Kirito felt sure he had heard somewhere before, despite not being able to understand her. Silica erupted in giggles, though, barely managing to calm down enough to explain. "She said ' _perhaps with merely your presence here the mystery surrounding this threat may be revealed'_ right after Asuna said the line about 'altering the deal.' What's next, Serena learning how to move stuff with her mind from a weird hermit or Ash saving a planet from being destroyed? Or maybe the guy in charge of all the good guys turns out to be the bad guy behind everything after recruiting Kirito under his personal command…"

Said 'potential dark apprentice' had a massive sweatdrop on his face by that point. "Is she on a sugar high right now, or does she just have an overactive imagination?"

"Either way, I don't think we should try to involve her in the investigation right now." Asuna replied. "For one thing, her dragon would attract too much attention, and for another thing it might put her in even more danger."

"Is it okay if we still keep an eye out for clues from our end, though?" Ash asked. "Fletchinder knows how to stay hidden and can keep us up to date on your progress, and you don't have to worry about anybody else finding out."

Asuna nodded, in full-on KOB commander mode again. "That would be an acceptable compromise, as long as you do not draw undue attention to the investigation. Are we in agreement?"

Silica was a bit put out that she didn't get to be a detective with them, but decided to trust that Asuna knew what she was talking about. Pina also seemed like she would be less worried this way, which sealed the deal. "You got it, Asuna. Good luck with your detective-ing!" The three Trainers headed back to the inn, leaving Kirito, Asuna, and Fletchinder to their investigation.

* * *

By the time Fletchinder met back up with them, Silica had already turned in for the night and Ash and Serena were sitting on a couch at one end of the hallway outside their rooms, waiting for its return. The first fifteen minutes or so had been spent in speculation, but that had soon lapsed into a comfortable silence that both felt reluctant to break. Serena was considering leaning on Ash's shoulder again (deliberately this time), but Fletchinder flew in through the window before she could try. Landing a distance away from them and taking cover behind a potted plant, it attempted to sidle up beside them as inconspicuously as possible – which, naturally, meant it was even _more_ conspicuous.

 _"Agent 8VN to Operations: Data-gathering mission complete. Confirm, is this channel secure?"_

Ash resisted the urge to facepalm. "Even if somebody _was_ eavesdropping on us, they wouldn't be able to understand you, so why are you acting like that?"

 _"My mission parameters were to covertly gather intelligence for our casefile. As such, I adopted a suitable persona."_ Fletchinder informed him.

 _"There's a difference between detectives and spies, you know."_ Pikachu snarked from Ash's lap. _"And Hollywood stealth and official-sounding jargon do not a secret agent make."_

Fletchinder looked indignant, preparing to argue its case, but Serena decided to defuse the argument before it started. "Spies vs. detectives aside, did you learn anything new that could help us?"

 _"What? Oh, yeah. *ahem* The name of the recently deceased victim is Kains, formerly of the guild Golden Apple. Said victim, according to his guildmate, was in town to meet up with said companion for a meal, but never arrived at the rendezvous location. Speculation based on the behavior of the Witness suggests this rendezvous was intended to be romantic in nature."_

An image of the nervous girl from the plaza flashed through Serena's mind. "Did this person, by any chance, happen to be a girl with long bluish-purple hair?"

Fletchinder was surprised that she had guessed that quickly. _"An astute guess, Operative Dancer. Should I assume suspicion that the Witness is also the Perpetrator and increase observation accordingly?"_

Serena shook her head. "No, she reacted the same way I would if someone had accused me of deliberately hurting Ash – much less going… _that_ far. And to fool me about that, she would have had to fool herself without even realizing it, which would be kind of hard to do if you deliberately killed someone. Did she mention anything else?"

 _"Only a vague recollection of a silhouette standing within the shadowed room behind the Victim before his unfortunate descent."_ the avian Pokémon informed them. _"While inaccurate due to the fact that the room was empty, the angle, distance, and lighting make her perception of such a silhouette quite plausible. The Black King and the White Queen intend to interrogate the Witness further during breakfast, but until then we remain unaware of the Perpetrator's true identity."_

Pikachu cut in at that point, still mildly annoyed at Fletchinder's mangled attempts at spy lingo. _"*Obviously*, it was a hit by the mermaid mafia paid in Leprechaun gold. But who was the puppet master? The unicorns? No, they've had a feud going with the mermaids for years…"_

Serena ignored him, concerned about the way Ash's brow was still furrowed in thought. She gently sent out a questioning mental probe, asking him what was going on. _Something just doesn't sit right with me,_ he responded. _I can't help but shake the suspicion that we're missing something important, something big._

 _Like how big?_ she asked. _Obvious-clue big or he's-not-even-dead-in-the-first-place big?_

Ash suddenly stiffened. _What if he's not? Is there a way we can check that?_

 _I don't know, but maybe Kirito does._ Serena quickly shot off a PM to Kirito asking about it, and it only took a couple of minutes before a reply came in.

[The Monument of Heroes in the Starting City where the respawn point used to be lists the names of all the players in the game, along with the date and manner of death for those who died. I saw him shatter, which makes me doubt that he's still alive, but even if your suspicion is wrong, it could still possibly give us a hint about how the culprit was able to pull this off. Do you mind checking it out while Asuna and I talk to Yolko? It should be safe enough for Silica to go with you.]

Once again, Ash felt a strong urge to say something oddly specific (this time along the lines of a loud "I know what we're gonna do today!" followed by questioning Pina's location), but was snapped out of it when he felt Serena stand up. At some point during their conversation, his arm had ended up around her shoulders without him noticing – and based on her lack of reaction, it hadn't felt out of the ordinary to her either. _I guess that's another piece to fit into_ that _puzzle,_ he decided, standing up himself so he could escort her to her room. "Well, see you in the morning, I guess?"

She paused halfway through the door to give him a smile that he had recently noticed made his cheeks feel slightly warmer than normal. "Right. See you in the morning, Ash."

* * *

The next morning, trouble struck yet again. Ash had once more been enthralled by the Sandman, and it appeared nothing short of an Uproar or imminent danger would wake him up. Both options were out of the question, though, as Uproar's no-sleep-in-the-vicinity effect was somehow able to bypass the soundproofing between rooms (thus waking other patrons who _needed_ the sleep) and it was basically impossible to put oneself in danger within a Safe Zone.

Waking him up telepathically was not an option either, as they had discovered back in Fennas Imlad. Serena had tried learning how to perform Safeguard from the Pokédex to protect herself against the Synchronization effects since that time, but all her attempts were rebuffed by the system, accompanied by the error message [GM Authority insufficient to directly nullify Player Status effects.] On the other hand, seeing that message had reminded her of the last time she saw something similar, and her attempts at learning to Teleport were going much more smoothly – she could usually manage about 3 times out of 4. Keeping her training a secret from Silica was hard as well, since the two of them shared a room.

Speaking of Silica, the young Dragon Tamer was convinced that her companions' monthly "private strategy sessions" when they talked with Clemont were subconscious attempts at going on a date without realizing that was what they were trying to do. Their inability to disabuse her of that notion without revealing their secret only cemented her conviction further, which had led to the "photo fiasco" the day before that she thought they didn't know about. But Serena had to admit, the girl had a lot of cheek to move them around in their sleep like that –

 _move them around in their sleep_

 _Sleep PKing_

 _danger in a Safe Zone_

Serena immediately closed the door and sent a duel request to Ash, hoping that "about to be forced into a duel while asleep" would be considered dangerous enough to wake him up. She walked over to the bed and grabbed his hand, guiding it towards the open window. Just before his finger touched the Accept button, her hand started to feel like it was being burnt and she snatched it away, grimacing in pain. At the same time, a pale blue flame erupted around his hand and his eyes shot open.

He looked around his room to find the threat, only to see Serena massaging her hand as if it had been injured. His defensive instincts, already on high alert, rose even higher, and he automatically scanned the area for signs of malicious intent. Strangely enough, the only person's emotions he could detect within the room were Serena's, which were a mixture of discomfort and embarrassment about… something. But why would she be embarrassed? It wasn't like she – oh.

First of all, there was a Duel Invitation window hovering in front of him that said _Serena_ of all people was trying to challenge him.

Second, he was still in his bed in the inn.

Third, the clock in his HUD said it was 10:30 in the morning.

There was only one scenario that could explain all these pieces of information. He must be hallucinating because he missed breakfast! (*Le gasp!*)

A flash of pain escaping across his mental link with Serena reminded him that he had more things to consider than just his stomach. Ignoring the messages from that part of his brain, he reconsidered what was going on – and his heart immediately dropped into his stomach when he realized that _he_ was the one who had hurt Serena. He opened his mouth to apologize, but she interrupted before he could say anything.

"It's not your fault. I didn't think about what would happen when I tried to wake you up that way." she told him, finally thinking to neutralize the sting of his Aura with Psychic-type energy. "Your response was perfectly reasonable for someone waking up in danger."

"But I _wasn't_ in danger." he protested. "Plus, this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't slept in, so it's partially my fault too."

"It doesn't matter whether or not you slept in," she countered, both of them unaware that Silica had just cracked open the door to check on Serena's progress. "You would have reacted the same way either way when I woke you up like that…" She trailed off, her embarrassment at having almost challenging him to a duel returning to the forefront.

A gasp from the doorway interrupted them, and they turned to see Silica backing out and quickly closing the door. When Serena realized how her sentence must have sounded to Silica, she promptly imitated a tomato for a couple of seconds before yanking the door back open, causing the dragon tamer to overbalance and fall back into the room. "Whatever you're thinking, forget it _now_." the performer growled under her breath. "I woke him up by trying to make him accept a duel, he thought I was attacking him and responded appropriately – end of story."

Disappointment flashed across Silica's face, but was quickly replaced with a Zorua-esque smirk. _"But I bet you wish that wasn't the end of the story…"_ she whispered just loud enough for Serena to hear, fishing for a reaction.

To her credit, Serena maintained an admirable poker face as she responded (though Silica noticed that she didn't deny her accusation). "What I may or may not have wanted isn't the issue right now. What _is_ the issue is getting ready for our trip to the Town of Beginnings to search the Monument." She opened her inventory and retrieved a sandwich she had saved from breakfast, tossing it to the now-garbed-for-travel Ash. "Come on, let's get going."

* * *

No matter how morbid its purpose, the craftsmanship behind a perfectly shaped cylinder of obsidian six feet high and twenty-two feet wide is incredibly hard not to appreciate. Kayaba must have known this while designing his death game, creating the Monument of Heroes not just as a grim reminder of the players' potential fate but also as a work of art. To show the players that even death has its own kind of dark beauty.

The surface of this cylinder was divided into rectangles approximately four inches wide and one-and-a-half inches high, the upper third of each displaying the name of a player. Many of these names were crossed out, and beneath each crossed-out name was a date and a phrase – the day and manner of their death.

 _Keita: Falling out of bounds. June 22._

 _Coper: Poison DoT (Damage Over Time). November 6._

 _Diabel: Slashing Damage (Floor 1 Boss). December 4._

Whether the other players knew their names or they were complete nobodies, the Cardinal System faithfully honored their passing with a memorial carved in this Immortal stone. It made no discrimination between the brave and the cowards, the heroes and the villains, the cynicists and the idealists, as all of them were equally powerless in death. Now they all served the same purpose: a reminder and a warning that would remain in the Chamber of Resurrection until time there ceased to have meaning.

Yet at the same time this monument served as a beacon of hope for many players – for anyone in this Player Index whose name was untouched yet remained in the land of the living. Those who kept abreast of the news about the front lines often ventured down into the Chamber to reassure themselves that yes, their heroes were still out fighting to make a difference where they could not.

With that volume of regular traffic, it was easy for the Trainers of the Beast Brigade to "infiltrate" (as Fletchinder had insisted they were doing) without drawing undue attention to themselves. And once inside, the air itself seemed to hold weight enough to make all who entered somber, allowing them to blend in further.

A joking complaint about people who felt the need to wax overly poetical died on Ash's lips as they passed through the doorway, the gravity of their mission reimpressing itself on him. "Right. We're looking for a name that sounds like 'Kains,' which means it could start with either a K or a C. I'll go look at the C names while you two look for him in the Ks, and if one of us finds a name and description that matches we'll let the others know. If none of us find anything, we'll meet back here and see what Kirito thinks about all this."

Serena and Silica nodded. "Got it." They headed over to the Monument, and Ash started skimming through the names he saw. _CaatLady63? No, and also_ what _?... Cab_Racer_360? Is that supposed to be another video game reference or something?... CaerbannogRabbit? Ni!... Caiaphas Cain? No, but at least the first syllable matches…_

[We found him.] Serena interrupted. [ _Kains: Piercing DoT. April 22._ I guess we were wrong.]

Ash sighed in disappointment once they met back up. "Well, there's _that_ theory down the drain. I still feel like we're missing something, though…" His stomach obviously agreed that something was missing, and loudly made its displeasure known. Silica pulled Pikachu and Pina aside for a whispered conference, and Ash took the time to contact Kirito. [Dead end for us. Any luck on your end?]

[We have a suspect now. His name's Grimlock, and he's the one who forged the spear that killed Kains. Based on what Yolko said, we think he may be out for revenge against whoever murdered his in-game wife to steal a rare item she was trying to sell. Schmitt from the DDA - or the HDA, as they're calling themselves now - used to be in their guild, so we're gonna talk to him to see if he can offer any insight and warn him that Yolko thinks he may be a target.]

[Wait, why would he be a target?] Ash replied, confused. [Is it just because he was in the guild?]

[No, he was one of three – Kains, Yolko, and himself – who voted against selling the item but lost 5/3. We think Grimlock blames one (or all) of them for her death. But until we talk to Schmitt, there's not really anything else we can do, so don't beat yourself up over your lead not working out.]

Kirito's last reply coincided eerily with Silica's declaration that they should have a picnic lunch to relax, and for a moment, Ash wondered whether or not their entire SAO adventure was scripted. A quick glance at Serena reassured him that his life inside SAO was no more scripted than his life outside, though; he just seemed to be a natural weirdness magnet. "Sure, why not?" he agreed. "And I think I know just the place."

* * *

Unfortunately for his stomach, knowing the place didn't mean he remembered how to get there from the Starting City – especially since the last time he had traveled between the two was via GM-forced teleportation. By the time they found their way back to the spot they had stopped at with Kirito and Klein on the first day, it was close to 2:00 in the afternoon, and the few snacks he had saved were barely keeping his stomach in check. The smell of Boar Flanks from the Frenzy Boars and Greater Boars they had dispatched along the way sizzling on Serena's camping stove did not help either. In an attempt to distract himself, he decided to watch Pikachu's attempts at coaching Pina to use Dragon Pulse.

 _"Okay, you know how to breathe out a pulse of healing energy, right?"_ The blue dragon nodded attentively. _"Then try it – but while you do so try and trace where that energy comes from."_

Pina did so, and her eyes suddenly widened. _"This power flowing beneath my skin… how have I never before been aware of it?"_

 _"Probably because you just took it for granted and never wondered where it came from."_ Pikachu answered. _"Now try and isolate the part that reminds you that you're a dragon."_

Pina closed her eyes momentarily. _"I feel it gathering – a surge of draconic energy deep within the core of my being."_

 _"All right, now you have three options. For the first, you release that energy in an uncontrolled burst, creating an even saturation of Dragon-type energy in the area of your target. That technique is known as Dragon Rage, and it's the easiest but also the least damaging. The second technique involves breathing it out in a steady but strong stream, and it's called Dragon Breath for obvious reasons. The third is Dragon Pulse, and it's essentially the energy release of a Dragon Rage with the focus of a Dragon Breath. Because of that, it's easier to learn if you master Dragon Breath beforehand. Now pick one and try it on that rock over there."_

Pina's pride as Silica's _vahlok_ would not allow her to aim as low as a simple uncontrolled burst, and so she inhaled deeply to prepare for a Dragon Breath. Unfortunately, she also inhaled a passing insect (Kayaba had included non-parasitic insects into his program to more closely emulate reality), causing her to unleash the energy in an uncontrolled sneeze – slightly more focused than a Dragon Rage but still much less than a Dragon Breath or Dragon Pulse. Instead of a shallow crater or a deeply-bored hole, there was now a small cavern approximately the right size and shape to hold a napping Bagon or Axew.

Pikachu sweatdropped. _"We'll… have to work on that."_ he noted just before Serena called them over for lunch. _"I would suggest plenty of Calcium in your diet, but I don't know which minerals show up in what food. For now, all you can really do is practice."_

 _"Your advice is gratefully accepted."_ Pina answered as they made their way back to their Trainers. _"Please pass my gratitude along to your_ fahdon dovah _as well."_

 _"Will do."_ Any further conversation was prevented by more important matters: namely, the entire group stuffing their faces (in a _dignified_ manner, dang it!) with food.

The hour or so afterwards was mostly spent in postprandial somnolence, AKA that-desire-you-get-to-do-nothing-after-a-good-meal. Eventually, however, Silica's still-young metabolism gave her too much energy to just sit still and she went off to go explore. Pikachu and Pina followed for both supervision and training purposes, and the drowsy atmosphere soon enveloped the two who remained.

The next thing they knew, Pikachu was shaking them awake. _"Um, guys, we may have a problem."_

"Huh? What's going on?" Ash muttered sleepily.

 _"Silica decided to see if she could level up her Training skills by riding on the back of one of those Greater Boars, and I have a bad feeling about it."_

Serena roused herself at that. "But those things aren't strong enough to really hurt her if she falls off them, are they? They're not nearly as heavy as Rhyhorn…"

 _"Maybe not, but it's still straying awfully close to the edge, and Pina and I aren't massive enough to stop it if it decides to charge that way."_

The two of them were instantly on high alert. "Which way is it?"

 _"Over this way. Follow me!"_

Sure enough, they arrived in the clearing to see Silica rampaging around on the back of a Boar, face bright with laughter. It had been trying to throw her off for several minutes now, but the Strength granted by her level enabled her to easily hold on.

Ash and Serena immediately started circling around to cut it off from the edge – but in their haste Serena forgot to apply the Notice-Me-Not, and the Boar noticed them as soon as they entered its aggro range. Its limited AI calculated their trajectory, recognizing that they were trying to bar it from something, and it immediately turned and charged in that direction at its highest possible velocity.

Silica was unprepared for the sudden burst of speed, and had to commit all her attention to stabilizing herself before she could do anything else. Once she was able to make out what her friends were saying, she recognized what was happening and her face turned pale. A voice in her head was shouting _jump off!_ but her muscles refused to cooperate, and the Boar jumped over the edge with her still on top.

It was only after she had begun falling that her muscles unlocked, but by then she was too far to make it back to the edge unless she could somehow move at physically impossible speeds.

 _physically impossible – teleportation – Teleport Crystal!_

As she pulled out her emergency Teleportation Crystal, she saw Ash and Serena looking down at her over the edge of the first Floor. Raising it up as high as she could and hoping they could see what she was doing, she yelled, " _Teleport: Town of Beginnings!_ " Her avatar began glowing as she continued to fall towards the game boundary, before disappearing in a flash of light when she reached it.

But it wasn't the diffuse bluish-white glow of Teleportation. Instead, it was a much deeper blue followed by a rain of polygons, identical to the remains of the Boar beside her.

The Cardinal System's manifestation of death.

* * *

Omake: Kayaba's Anti-Disclaimer

* * *

"Fair enough." Kirito agreed, reaching out to shake Asuna's proffered hand. As he did, though, he remembered something. "Hold on, what about my supper? I was really craving that steak dinner…"

His hand was immediately crushed by Asuna's vice-like grip. "I'm altering the deal." she reminded him in no uncertain terms. "Pray I don't alter it any further."

"We'll help where we can too." Ash cut in, attempting to somewhat alleviate the tension. "This sort of incident happens around me all the time, so I may as well help try to figure it out like usual."

Pina chirped an agreement that Kirito felt sure he had heard somewhere before, despite not being able to understand her. Silica erupted in giggles, though, barely managing to calm down enough to explain. "She said ' _perhaps with merely your presence here the mystery surrounding this threat may be revealed'_ right after Asuna said the line about 'altering the deal.' What's next, Serena learning how to move stuff with her mind from a weird hermit or Ash saving a planet from being destroyed? Or maybe the guy in charge of all the good guys turns out to be the bad guy behind everything after Kirito kills one of his lieutenants and then he recruits him under his personal command…"

*Meanwhile, in the KoB Headquarters…*

"Note to self: Make Kirito a Knight and try to get him on the Council so that he can take charge of the fighting once I reveal myself." Heathcliff muttered as he pushed his pen past piles of proliferating paperwork. A small red bird flew through the window and chirped in his ear. "No, I am _not_ going to authorize a Dungeon Boss like that. A four-armed skeleton swordsman breaks disbelief enough, even without the whole 'chase him on the back of a giant lizard' gimmick. Plus all those copyright lawsuits…"

He shuddered visibly before the bird chirped again. "What do you mean, 'it falls under "fair use"?' I did make money off this game, and Aincrad is supposed to by _my_ world, not an amalgamation or alteration of other previously-established story worlds. _Especially_ if this 'multiverse AI chat room' I've heard you talking about is really a thing."

The Cardinal whistled something that sounded suspiciously like _your loss, then_ before it winged its way out the window to monitor the game once more.


	12. Chapter 11

**It's Detective Time! Part 2**

(Ep 06)

* * *

As soon as Silica's body shattered, a deafening silence fell over the area. _I don't believe it…_ Serena thought, stupefied. _She can't be dead! She can't!_ But her senses refused to lie to her. She had sensed Silica's mental signature vanish upon contact with what felt like a barrier of pure energy, and there was no trace of it remaining anywhere within her ability to detect. Her legs collapsed underneath her, and she vaguely registered Ash numbly carrying her away from the edge of the floating castle. Once they reached a safe distance, he tried to set her down, but she buried her face in his shoulder and refused to let go.

He didn't mind, though; he was leaning just as much on her for support as she was on him. Her presence felt like a lifeline in an ocean of accusing thoughts – _you can save the world several times over but can't save one little girl, you should've been more alert, Serena doesn't deserve to be stuck with someone like you_ – and from what he could tell, she felt the same way. It was only the unreserved feelings of _concern care admiration dedication protectiveness_ that he felt from her that gave him the strength to recognize the falsehood of those accusations and respond to her in kind.

Finally, the wave of emotions reached its peak and her sobs began to subside. Thankfully, Kayaba hadn't seen fit to replicate the production of mucus, but both their tunics' shoulders were still wet with each other's tears. Pikachu's cheeks also had patches of wet fur where his tears had trailed, and the air around Fletchinder's face seemed oddly steamy. And with as emotional as they were, Pina was devastated.

Or at least she would have been, if she was there. Ash sat up rigidly when he realized the little dragon was absent, prompting Serena to wonder what was the matter.

 _Pina's not here,_ he informed her silently. _And I don't think Kayaba would have programmed Familiars to die when their master does – I think he would have had them revert to Wild Monsters again._

Serena picked up the thread of thought, a spark of hope igniting in her chest. _Which means that if Silica had died, Pina would still be here, too upset to do anything!_

 _Exactly. That means there's a chance she could still be alive! And if so, we should still be able to find her on our Friends List, right?_

Serena's eyes widened, and she twisted around in his arms so she could lean back against him while navigating her menu. Sure enough, Silica's name still had a green "active player" dot next to it and her locator said she was back in the Town of Beginnings. "She's still alive…" she gasped, sagging against him in relief and fervently hoping this wasn't just a dream created out of grief. "But how? We saw her shatter before she could teleport, and shattering means you're dead!"

The niggling seed of doubt that had been in Ash's mind since the day before suddenly sprouted into an idea. "But what if there was a situation where it _didn't_? If someone figured that out and knew how to replicate it, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch for them to fake their death that way – maybe _that's_ what was happening in the town square yesterday!"

Serena wasn't quite so convinced. "If that's true, how would our situation help? Silica was falling out of bounds while trying to teleport, but Kains was hanging from a window with a spear through his chest. The two situations are completely different!"

 _"Not completely."_ Pikachu interjected. _"Both of them were suspended in midair when it happened, and who's to say the 'murder victim' didn't have a hidden Teleport Crystal somewhere?"_

"But then what about the name on the monument?" Serena questioned. "Everything matched up perfectly…"

 _"Exactly the sort of evidence you would need to sell the deception. Make sure the performance matches up with the actual death, and nobody asks questions."_

"Of course, that's all assuming this 'teleport while falling to simulate death' trick is even what happened." Ash cut in. "And it's not like we have any way to test it without risking our lives and burning through our supply of Crystals…"

Pikachu cleared his throat and gestured to Serena with a flick of his head. _"There's one problem solved right there, unless you forgot?"_

Ash chuckled in embarrassment. "I actually had forgotten about that. But what about the whole 'Serena falling to her potential death' issue? I refuse to try if we can't figure that out." He tightened his grip slightly, reassuring himself that she was still safe. "It's too bad Fletchinder isn't strong enough to hoist her up to a safe falling distance or catch her if she falls too far…"

"Don't worry – if we can find something the right height, I trust you to catch me." Serena told him. "You haven't been training your Extended Weight Limit skill for nothing, have you?"

 _"And we actually do have something the right height here."_ Pikachu realized. _"If you jump from the top of that rock you're leaning up against, you should have just enough time to test whether or not this is real before Ash catches you."_

Ash shifted to look her in the eye. "You up for this? I don't want to force you to do this if you don't want to do it."

She responded with an appreciative smile and a quick squeeze before standing up and helping him to his feet. "If this is the best way for us to help Kirito right now, let's make the most of the opportunity." Backing up a few paces to gain momentum, she vaulted off his shoulders up to the top of the monolith.

It took a few tries, but they soon confirmed that Teleportation during free-fall did, in fact, result in the appearance of the player dying. The first time it happened, Ash's heart plummeted into his stomach again, and it was only the fact that he could see Serena standing right in front of him that kept him from losing his lunch. The next few times were progressively easier to handle, but they also further cemented his conviction that the Monument needed to be revisited.

* * *

Their reunion with Silica once they returned to the Starting City was very awkward; neither of them knew whether to laugh in relief or to let her know just how worried they had been. Eventually, it just collapsed into a massive group hug that Meyer would have been proud of. Not even Pina was immune, though her involvement stayed limited to fretting like a mother hen.

Of course, all good things in this world must come to an end – and for this particular guild glomp, the chiming of the Town bell was the herald of its end. Public access to the Monument closed off at 7:00, by order of the Aincrad Liberation Force, and the bell had just chimed 6:00, which meant they couldn't put it off any longer. Extricating themselves from the tangled hug, the small guild made their way to the Chamber of Resurrection (grabbing a bite to eat along the way).

This time the search took longer, since more people were still alive than had been crossed off the Index. It was still worth it, though, when their efforts resulted in a single uncrossed name: Caynz. Their suspicions were confirmed further when Ash noticed the PM Kirito had sent him an hour before. [Yolko assassinated during meeting with Schmitt with dagger that matches spear. He's convinced culprit is ghost of dead guild leader, but assassin's use of Teleport Crystal makes me suspicious. Any new information on your end?]

A quick look at the Monument revealed that Yolko was still very much alive, and he typed up a reply as quickly as he could. [Yolko and Caynz both alive; faked death using glitch with Teleport Crystal that swaps animations (figured it out thanks to Silica). If Yolko was on Friends List, should probably locate before she remembers to delete.]

* * *

Up on the 57th Floor, Kirito dropped his sandwich in shock. In another universe, this action would have led to him figuring out the mystery as it existed there – but all it managed to do in this timeline was waste a perfectly good sandwich.

* * *

[Are you absolutely sure about that?] Kirito messaged back. [And what would they have to gain from faking their own deaths?]

[They're both still on the Monument, and we tested the glitch multiple times to see if it was consistent. The only motive I can think of is trying to get people's attention – but then why would they only do it in front of a crowd once and then in front of the people investigating the second time?]

Kirito's answer took several moments to arrive. […I don't think it was intended as much for us as it was for Schmitt. He was the third person against the sale of the ring, so they probably thought he was involved in the murder of Griselda and staged this to try and get a confession out of him. The problem is, based on his reaction I don't think Schmitt would have gone as far as having her killed to steal the ring. If anything, the worst he would do is probably steal it from the guild storage and then leave the guild – but then they would have known for sure it was him.]

[But wouldn't she have had the ring in her personal storage when she went to sell it?] Serena cut in. [If she had it in shared storage, it would have stayed there even when she died, wouldn't it?]

If it were possible for digital text to sound urgent, the reply they received next surely did. [Get to Floor 19 as soon as possible, and stay on the alert. The three of them could be in danger of getting killed off for real.]

Silica, whose exhaustion from the Boar-riding escapade had finally caught up to her, elected to stay in town so she wouldn't get in the way. This cut their travel time approximately in half, as they were then able to Teleport directly to the Starting City's Teleportation Gate under the cover of the SEP ward and then take the Gate to Ralback immediately afterwards. (They would have gone directly to Ralback, but though they had the mental focus and force of will necessary neither was able to visualize the town in sufficient detail to succeed.)

Asuna greeted them upon their arrival. "Oh good, you're here already. The place we need to get to is about half an hour away on foot, but Kirito said he wanted to try and rent out a horse so he could get there faster. Do you think you two could use your Beast Tamer skills to help us get it saddled up and ready to ride for him?"

"Sure, but why aren't both of you riding there?" Ash said. "It'd help if Kirito had backup from the beginning, right?"

Asuna grimaced wryly as they made their way to the rental paddock. "Sorry, I don't think I have enough real-life riding experience to keep up with him. If you think you can, you're free to go with him, though."

Catching the look of concern on Serena's face, he shot her a reassuring grin. "No need to worry, Serena. After those riding lessons you gave me back when we were first traveling, I'd say I'm good to go!"

"Just make sure you try to stay safe." she conceded. "It's not that I don't think you can do it, I just can't help worrying when you charge into danger like this."

"Then the two of you can worry about us together." Kirito interrupted, coming out of the shed where the NPC shopkeeper kept the bridles and saddles. "I figured having one of you for backup would be helpful, so I went ahead and rented two horses. The two-two split means more safety in numbers for each group, and if there's danger there, we'll hold out as long as we can. You do have real-life riding experience, right?"

"Yeah, he does; he told us while you were inside." Asuna informed him. "Now let's get a move on."

Kirito nodded. "Right. Klein and his guild will follow you two as soon as he can get them all mobilized, too." With Ash and Serena there, it took hardly any time at all to calm down the high-strung horses and saddle them up for the ride, and the two swordsmen sped off in the direction of the hill Asuna had pointed them to.

* * *

Ash soon found that his earlier statement was much less accurate than he would have liked. Riding a 200-plus pound hunk of living rock was a far cry from Kayaba's hyper-realistic simulation of a flesh-and-blood creature adapted to high-speed runs, and the training he had received when racing on a Ponyta at the Laramie Ranch in Kanto was long enough ago that he had all but forgotten. For one thing, a Rhyhorn gallop was punctuated by a heavy _one-two_ jolt as it alternated between its forelegs and its hind legs, but the footfalls of the horse he was riding took the form of repeating triplets. For another thing, the sound of the horse's running was much more muted than a Rhyhorn's thunderous footsteps (though there were a few moments Ash would almost _swear_ that he could hear coconut halves clapping in time with their gallop).

Serena's advice did help him stay on long enough for his long-forgotten muscle memory to reestablish itself, though, and the ride became much smoother afterwards. Kirito was several yards in front of him, looking as if he had modified a motorcycle-riding stance to keep his balance on the horse, and a thought crossed his mind. _We don't know who or what could be waiting there – it could even be an ambush, in which case Asuna and Serena would be too far behind. If only we could have some sort of secret backup that gets there at the same time as us…_

 _…wait a minute – Frogadier! He's good at stealth and knows how to act on his own, plus this'll give him a chance to move about that he wouldn't have otherwise._ Pulling up the menu for the shared storage space he and Serena had created to store their Pokémon, he selected the ninja frog's name and started whispering to him. "Kirito and I are currently headed into what might very likely be a trap, and I'd feel a little safer if you were there to be a secret backup. You might just end up watching from the trees, but if not, I trust you to know when to step in. I would ask Pikachu, but if these people recognize me they'll be suspicious if he's not there."

 _"Understood."_ Frogadier replied, and Ash felt as if he sensed an affirmative nod. _"My sincerest apologies, Braixen, but it appears we will have to finish this conversation some other time."_ Thanks to the fact that he had not been in his Pokéball when recalled to the Inventory, he appeared with the muted flash of an Equip rather than the bright flash and loud sound that would have heralded his arrival back outside the game. He immediately took to the trees and began following in almost complete silence.

As they approached their target location, Ash extended his senses forward to see if he could tell what awaited them. He was surprised to see no more than seven Aura Signatures ahead – four players seemed an awfully small number to take out two DPS-ers and a tank, especially since one was a respectable distance away and didn't exude an aura of aggression. The other three, however, had a very strong reddish cast to their Aura Signatures, as if malice of this sort had fused itself with their entire being.

Their predatory instincts quickly alerted them of the new arrivals and they shifted into a guarded formation, ignoring the three Golden Apple members as if they were of no consequence. Of course, with two paralyzed by fear and the other Paralyzed by the system this was a very logical assumption for them to make. The hidden player, on the other hand, exuded a brief spike of surprise before returning to his observational mindset.

As if to increase the drama of their arrival, Kirito and Ash's horses reared up in concerto once in the clearing, screaming a challenge to all who would approach.

This was immediately undercut by the sound of two rear ends impacting the ground, neither player having expected their horses to do that. "That entrance was almost perfect, dangit!" Kirito grumbled as he stood to his feet, slapping the horse on the rump to send it back to town. "But it looks like we got here just in time."

"…So, the Black Swordsman and the Beastman." the leader of the red players intoned in a gravelly voice, hefting his oversized cleaver. "What a surprise to see you here."

"Our reputations precede us, I see." Kirito remarked dryly. "But so do yours, and I must admit I'm not impressed. From what I've heard about the leaders of Laughing Coffin, I thought you'd be taller."

Ash was confused for a few seconds, though he refused to let it show on his face. Laughing Coffin was well-known for murdering players of frontline caliber, and the three facing them (PoH, the one with the cleaver; Red-Eyed XaXa, the one with the skull mask; and Johnny Black, the literal cloak-and-dagger assassin) were among their top players, so why was Kirito acting so nonchalant? Even more confusing was the fact that he could clearly sense Kirito's nervousness due to the irregularities in his Aura signature.

PoH didn't seem to care. "So we've got ourselves a smart-mouth, do we? I wonder if his blade is sharp enough to match his wit. Though I suppose it must not be _that_ sharp – he would have stood a _much_ better chance with someone like the Flash at his side…"

"Don't worry, she'll be here." Kirito retorted, drawing his sword and holding it defensively. "Along with 30 other members of the assault team. I think we can hold out long enough for them to get here, don't you?"

 _Wait, isn't it just… oh, he's bluffing!_ Ash realized, finally understanding why Kirito sounded so confident. _He's trying to throw them off their game so they're more likely to make mistakes!_ He decided to try something similar, flaring his Aura briefly to make his presence slightly more imposing. "You're forgetting that Pikachu doesn't need my instructions to fight – with his help we might even do better than just hold them off."

PoH stood in thought for a moment, more likely than not weighing the pros and cons of getting into a fight. A wave of anger and disgust pulsed outwards from him, increasing in intensity when he found himself physically incapable of uttering the swears he was accustomed to, and he finally settled for snapping his fingers in anger, signaling for a tactical withdrawal. "Tch. You win this time, but next time you may not be so lucky."

The three red players stalked past the two of them, glaring angrily all the while. Just before they exited the clearing, XaXa stopped to fire off one last shot. "Next time, _I'll_ be the one on the horse hunting _you_ …"

"Good luck with that." Kirito snarked. "It's not as easy as it looks."

XaXa glared one last time and turned back to the forest, disappearing into the fog in the direction of town.

 _…That's the same direction Asuna and Serena are coming from!_ Ash realized in alarm, opening up his and Serena's mental link as fast as he could. _Quick, shield the two of you with your strongest Notice-Me-Not – Laughing Coffin Executives headed your way._ He sighed in relief when he received her acknowledgement before turning his attention back to where Kirito was addressing the members of Golden Apple they had rescued.

"Nice to see you alive again, Yolko." the black-coated swordsman said, voice biting acidically. "I'm guessing that's your fellow 'ghost' Caynz?"

Her voice choked up slightly, and Ash could feel her remorse as she apologized. "I don't know if you believe me, but we were going to tell you once all this was over. Sorry about tricking you all into helping us."

Schmitt finally found his own voice again, Paralysis finally countered by the antidote potion Kirito had given him. "Thanks a lot for saving us – but how did you know those three would be here?"

"I was wondering that too." Ash said. "All your message said was you thought they might be in danger, so I'm just as much in the dark as they are."

"That's just it; I _didn't_ know. I was acting on a hunch." Kirito's response garnered surprised gasps and raised eyebrows from the others there, so he elaborated. "The spear and the dagger looked similar enough that they were highly unlikely to have been made by different people, which means Grimlock would have made both of them as part of a set. But if two of your former guild members came to you asking you to make a matching set of weapons, wouldn't you want to know _why_ they wanted them? And to answer that question for him, wouldn't you have had to tell him your plan?"

Caynz sighed heavily. "We did tell him our plan, but even then we had to get on our knees and beg to get him to make them. But what does that have to do with this situation? He just wanted to let Griselda rest in peace – he didn't even _want_ to be a part of this."

"And that's where our information differs." Kirito replied. "He wasn't against it because he had moved on; he just didn't want you to call attention to the incident again because he was afraid people would look into it further."

There was a spike of surprise and fear from the watcher hidden in the bushes at this accusation, which firmly cemented its truth in Ash's mind. After all, why would someone who didn't want to be seen be afraid when a new culprit was accused? _Grimlock's hiding in the forest on the left side of the clearing,_ he informed Serena, who was now close enough to sense. _See if you and Asuna can get him to come here for questioning._

 _Right. It may take a few minutes, though – Asuna's been exchanging messages with Heathcliff almost nonstop since she heard where those bad guys were going. I think one of them said something about "narrowing down areas…"_

 _Gotcha. See you then._ Ash tuned back in just in time to hear Kirito's next reply.

"It's common knowledge that guilds have a common storage space, but the fact that Married Players also share their inventory space is much less known. That means that when Griselda died, everything in their shared inventory was now solely in Grimlock's. _Including the ring._ It was never stolen; Grimlock had it the entire time."

By this time, Yolko had gone as white as a sheet. "You mean Grimlock was behind the whole thing? But then why would he help us by making the weapons if it just meant he would get exposed?"

Kirito skimmed over the PM he had just received from Asuna before closing it. " _Because he knew your plan._ He knew you planned to lure Schmitt here to extract a confession – which meant the three of you who knew would all be in one place, alone, at the same time. After that, it was a simple matter of tipping off Laughing Coffin that an HDA lieutenant would be showing up here without any backup, and he could keep the profits from selling the ring without anyone being the wiser. In fact, he probably hired one of them to take out Griselda too." He turned to face the woods, loudly asking "ISN'T THAT RIGHT, GRIMLOCK?"

His question was met with a startled gasp from Yolko, followed by several seconds of silence. "I _said_ , ISN'T THAT RIGHT, _GRIMLOCK_?"

"Uh, gasp?" Yolko ventured tentatively, wondering what was going on.

"I _SAID_ –"

"Hold your horses, Kirito – we're coming!" Asuna interrupted him. "I know you were going for dramatic timing, but this guy is being _surprisingly_ uncooperative…" She slowly appeared out of the fog with a man in stereotypical 'overt agent' clothing (dark glasses, long dark jacket, and matching fedora) held at rapier-point, Fletchinder eying him like a hawk from its perch on Serena's shoulder.

"Is it true?" Caynz demanded. "Were you the one who had Griselda killed?"

Grimlock's silence in response said it all.

Or rather, it answered Caynz's question beyond the shadow of a doubt. If it had _truly_ said it all, Yolko's next question would have been unnecessary. "How _could_ you? Was the money so important that you'd kill your own _wife_ for it?"

Grimlock's reply stopped all of them in their tracks. " _It was never about the money._ " he said darkly, a faint tinge of humor in his voice. "It was the only way I had to keep me from losing her."

"What exactly do you mean?" Asuna asked him sharply. "How does someone dying keep you from losing them?"

A smirk made its way onto his features. "Because I would have lost her if she had stayed alive. The longer we were in here, the further we grew apart – but by having her killed, my darling Yuuko would forever remain in my heart as I had remembered her."

Ash and Serena felt almost physically sick at his words, the fact that he sincerely _believed_ what he was saying making it even worse. Kirito's reaction was less extreme, since he was unable to directly sense Grimlock's conviction, but his disgust was still quite evident. He still couldn't help but wonder, though: why did Grimlock call her Yuuko and not Griselda?

He must have voiced his thoughts aloud, since Grimlock answered that question with his next statement. "It wasn't just in the game that we were married. She was my wife in the real world as well." His speech grew lighter, as if he was reminiscing fondly. "She was the perfect wife; beautiful, timid, and submissive. In all the years we were married, we never had a fight – life couldn't have been better."

The portion of Ash's Aura that had subconsciously attuned itself to Zekrom during his encounter with it in Unova flared up in protest at Grimlock's definition of "ideal." _Timid and submissive? Sounds like he wants someone to control more than a partner… If I had to pick someone, I'd rather look for someone who isn't afraid to pursue their own goals, to stand up for themselves, or to push themselves to grow alongside me. Someone kind at heart, who knows how to be firm and won't hesitate to confront someone when they're being stupid. And the fact that she's a great baker too doesn't hurt either…_

His train of thought was derailed when Grimlock started talking again, this time with a much harsher voice. "But that all changed the moment we were trapped in this game. In here, I was the one who was afraid – terrified of playing this death game. But for her, it was like she was a completely different person. She wasn't content to be Yuuko the housewife anymore; instead, she was Griselda: swordswoman and guild leader. Every day she was around served as a painful reminder of the perfect life I once had.

"Then it hit me: death is a natural part of this game, is it not? Yuuko had already died and been replaced with Griselda, so if Griselda died I could replace her with Yuuko once again. Even if she was only a memory, my wife Yuuko would always be far superior to the imposter who had taken her place.

"So you see," he concluded, "my actions were perfectly justified. You may not understand now, but you will someday. Once you've found love, you'll do _anything_ to keep ahold of it."

Asuna opened her mouth to speak, but was beaten to it by Serena. "You're wrong." the Performer told him in no uncertain terms. "That's not love you feel – that's possessiveness. You wanted what was best for _you_ , but if you really loved her you would have wanted what was best for _her_. You would have supported her as she grew stronger, even if you had disagreements or it meant putting your own goals on standby. You would have encouraged her to go for broke, to never stop growing, to not give up until the end – not just be content with who she used to be!"

Her words had a vastly different effect on two members of her audience. With each one, a warm surge of admiration welled its way up within Ash's chest. _That's my Serena,_ he thought absently yet fondly as she spoke, silently cheering her on. For Grimlock, however, each word was like a psychic lance, penetrating deep into his illusionary justifications to deliver a sobering dose of reality. He fell to his knees in shock as the implications hit him, unable to remain on his feet any longer.

"I think we can handle things from here." Schmitt said after a few seconds of heavy silence, pushing himself to his feet. "But thanks for your help so far. Speaking of which, that was a mighty fine speech there, Miss."

"Oh, um… thanks." Serena replied shyly, her moment of extreme boldness over. She hadn't meant for all that to come out, but it had anyway.

"He's right, Serena!" Ash called over, causing her a different kind of embarrassment. "You were amazing!"

Asuna noticed Serena's reaction and unobtrusively made her way to Kirito's side. "Are they always like this?" she asked, curious. "I would think _one_ of them would have said something to the other by now, but they seem completely oblivious to each other's feelings…"

Kirito chuckled quietly. "Actually, when I first met them it seemed a lot more one-sided. Ash either didn't understand or misinterpreted whenever I tried teasing them about it, which makes me think he still doesn't quite get exactly what his feelings mean. Serena, on the other hand, probably doesn't want to get her hopes up too high and so has herself convinced that she's reading too much into how he acts. Honestly, I kinda wanna be there when they realize – but there's another part of me that thinks something like that should happen in private."

Her next question caught him off guard. "What do you think you would do if _you_ were in that situation?"

"What do you mean?" he said, trying to regain his mental equilibrium.

"If you liked someone – maybe even were in love with them – and then found out there was a huge part of who they are that you hadn't ever known about. How do you think you would feel?"

 _Not like Grimlock_ was his brain's reflexive response, but he figured that wasn't what she wanted to hear. After all, why even ask the question if the answer was so obvious? Finally, he settled on "Lucky, I guess…" At her quizzical glance, he elaborated. "If I had fallen in love with them, it'd hopefully be because I liked them for who they are. So then if I found out something new about them, I'd be able to fall in love with them all over again, right?"

His explanation seemed to satisfy Asuna. "Good answer," she told him, smiling. _And to think Mother claimed playing these games wouldn't have any use in the real world…_ Her attitude sobered again slightly as she remembered her family situation, and how her mother would not want her even associating with people like Kirito (much less actually be friends with him).

That reminded her of something she had noticed earlier while searching for Yolko, and she turned back to Kirito. "Hey, would you mind adding me to your Friends List since you have your incoming requests disabled? We're already more than acquaintances thanks to those two, so we may as well make our friendship official."

Kirito saw no problem with that and opened up his Menu to do so – but then a thought struck him. _Didn't Klein say something like "You'll know they're officially friends when they can immediately tell you're joking with them" once? I guess there's just one way to find out…_

He froze his hand just short of sending the request and pretended to mull it over. "I dunno, I never did get that meal you promised. Oww…" He rubbed his upper arm where she had slapped it.

"Jerk." she snapped unconvincingly, unable to hide the smile creeping onto her face. "I _was_ going to let you accompany me to breakfast afterwards, but it appears that offer is no longer on the table."

Kirito swooned dramatically, hand held to his forehead. "Woe is me, betrayed of this opportunity to dine with such a fair maiden! How shall I survive with my heart thus torn asunder?"

"Maybe if you actually sent her the friend request…" Ash catcalled, having finally taken note of their conversation. "And who knows, maybe she'll take pity on you and reinstate you as a Breakfast Buddy."

"Like you can talk." Kirito shot back. "If you think you know the proper way to do this sort of thing, then prove it!"

"Maybe I will…" Ash turned to Serena, silently communicating his intent to make this as awkward for Kirito to watch as possible. He then knelt down in Bonnie's traditional "she's a keeper" pose and loudly asked, "Serena Paschall, would you do the honor of accompanying me to breakfast, _sil vous plait_?"

He was surprised to find that the question came out slightly more serious than he had intended, but that was quickly excised by the warm feeling that accompanied her response. "Are you kidding? Of course I will! I mean, uh, I believe I shall accept your invitation, Ash Ketchum."

Asuna stifled a snicker as Ash addressed Kirito again. "See, _that's_ how you do it."

The beta tester's reply was much more serious than any of them had expected. "Hold on a moment, are you saying you used your real-life name as your username?"

"Why, are you not supposed to do that?" Asuna asked, causing him to facefault.

"Seriously, you too?" he mumbled from his position on the ground. "At least you both just used your first names. People just generally don't because it makes it easier for stalkers to steal real-life information. Of course, I guess it's not _quite_ as much of a deal in here since nobody can get out to try and do that…"

A rumble from Ash's stomach interrupted him. "Ehehe, sorry about that. I guess this means Serena and I are gonna head to breakfast now. You wanna come with us, Asuna?"

She dismissed them with a wave of her hand. "You two go enjoy yourselves together. I'll just wait here until Kirito gets his act together."

"Oh come on, not you too!"

Laughter rang through the air as the two Trainers departed, only to be replaced with stunned silence when the next person spoke.

"Hold on a moment, why are we talking as if it was almost breakfast time? It's not even 10:00 at night!"

* * *

Omake: Silica's Side

* * *

As Silica reappeared out of the Starting City's Teleport Gate, she collapsed to her knees in relief. _It worked_ , she thought breathlessly, before quickly looking around to try and locate Pina. The little dragon had just regained her bearings from the sudden Teleport when they spotted each other. "Pina!" she exclaimed happily as her partner dive-bombed her.

 _"Thank the_ Kruziik Dovah _!"_ Pina said, nuzzling into Silica's shoulder. _"I was worried I had failed in my duties as your protector, Silica-_ kiir _."_

"It wasn't your fault." Silica reassured her. "And there's nothing to worry about – I'm safe now."

 _"And I am glad of it. Now all that remains is to await the arrival of your fellow_ kendovve. _"_ The two of them sat down on a nearby bench to wait for Ash and Serena.

Half an hour passed.

Then another.

"I don't get it!" Silica complained. "Didn't they see the Teleport Crystal? Why would the two of them stay out there instead of coming back to look for me?" She scrunched her face up in thought, mulling over the possibilities, before gasping. "Wait a moment, I figured it out!"

Pina looked at her quizzically.

"Now that I'm back here, it's just the two of them out there together, right? Now that they don't have to worry about keeping an eye on me, they're in an ideal date environment! They obviously realized that and decided to take advantage of it. Maybe they'll even stay out there until nightfall, finishing up with a heartfelt confession under the stars…"

An older, grandfatherly man who was passing by chuckled. "Are you sure you're not trying to write a romance novel, young miss? Ah, to be young and carefree again."

"What is he talking about?" Silica demanded as he disappeared into the crowd. "That progression of events is completely and totally realistic, and until evidence proves me wrong I refuse to believe that's not what's happening!"

Unfortunately for Ash and Serena, they could not explain their delay after realizing she was still alive without revealing that they were from a completely different set of space-time, and so she remained convinced of her conclusions for quite some time afterwards.

 **A/N: Credit for free-fall/Teleport glitch belongs to creators of SAO Abridged. I think you can guess why this had to appear at the bottom of the chapter and not the top.**


	13. Chapter 12

**.**

 **Regrettably Like a TV Show**

(Based on EP07)

* * *

By the time two more months passed, Silica had progressed up to frontline level and the Beast Brigade had begun to take an active role in Clearing (again, in Ash and Serena's case). Aside from an instance where the dragon tamer had almost acquired another familiar, however, those months were not very eventful.

During the event in question, they had been exploring a dungeon near the front lines when an odd skeletal cat started to approach them. It didn't seem hostile, so when Silica mentioned that it reminded her of when her real-world cat ("though you're still great, Pina!") wanted to play they decided to stand back and watch.

It took several minutes of slow advancing, during which time the light red of its cursor gradually faded towards a medium gray, but eventually the skeletal feline appeared willing to let her stroke it behind the ears. Just before she could, though, a group of other explorers loudly burst into the adjacent chamber and activated its "flight" response, returning its cursor to the previous shade of red as it bolted. Silica was slightly disappointed, but admitted that she didn't know whether or not she would have been able to handle more than one Familiar at once in battle. Even with Pina's increased intelligence, fighting on the frontlines still took all of her attention – which was probably why Kayaba hadn't imposed a limit on the number of familiars a single player could have.

Of course, the ability of Pokémon to act independently in combat circumvented that requirement, and Ash and Serena soon took the opportunity to "acquire" another Pokémon each. Serena's choice was (obviously) Braixen, and at the fire fox's request Frogadier took on the role of Ash's "new" familiar. Pina was initially somewhat skeptical of their arrival, but Pikachu and Talonflame soon reassured her that the "newbies" were from the same place as they had originally come from. Before long, she actually came to appreciate having Braixen as a female conversation partner (Fletchinder remained deliberately evasive when asked a question regarding gender, so nobody but Fletchinder knew for sure).

Silica, on the other hand, took the synergy between the two as yet another sign that their Trainers were "meant to be." The fact that Ash and Serena had chosen to remain isolated for several hours to allegedly learn their new partners' fighting styles just reinforced her belief even further.

She had shared her beliefs with the blacksmith Asuna had recommended them to, who took them with a grain of salt but agreed nonetheless. If anything, Lisbeth seemed more concerned with Asuna's lack of a dating life than anything between Ash and Serena (which she claimed would work itself out in time). That wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy the "girly gossip" time Silica provided – in fact, thanks to her work-focused and relatively sedentary lifestyle, Asuna was probably the closest she came to legitimate socializing and Silica the second-closest.

Which was why it was such a surprise to arrive at her smith shop in Lindas and see a sign that said "CLOSED." Asuna appeared a few minutes later, and was just as surprised.

"So you didn't have any idea she wasn't going to be here either?" Ash asked when he saw her reaction.

"Of course not! Why would I come visit her if I knew she had closed up and left early?" Asuna said, huffing in irritation. "I suppose I should be glad she's actually gone out somewhere, but this is so out of the ordinary for her that I can't help but worry."

"Well, the Friends Locator says she's on Floor 55…" Serena informed them, manipulating her Menu to display Lisbeth's location. "Did she say anything recently that might have meant she was getting ready to go on a trip?"

Asuna thought for a moment, irritation still evident on her face. "I don't think so. Let's see, I asked her to sharpen my Wind Fleuret yesterday before my meeting with Kirito and she asked a lot of silly questions about it…" At Silica's quizzical glance, a small rush of pink flooded to her face. "Oh come on, not you too! Lisbeth had the exact same look on her face – but I'm telling you, it was just meeting up as friends! I even gave her a referral…"

Her eyes widened, and she quickly paged through her own Menu before sighing. "Of _course_ Kirito is mixed up with this somehow. But why would they go to Floor 55 together, of all places?"

"I think I know!" Silica piped up. "A couple of days ago, Lisbeth mentioned something about a miniboss on that floor that drops a rare metal, but people think you need a blacksmith with you to find it. Maybe they went to try and get some of that metal or something."

"I suppose that makes sense." Asuna admitted. "And with the way difficulty has been scaling, a Floor 55 miniboss shouldn't be too much trouble for Kirito. I just wonder why she didn't say anything to me…"

Ash shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when they get back. Wanna train with us while we wait?"

"Sure, why not?" she agreed. "It's better than spending all day worrying, at least."

* * *

If nothing else, Asuna had to admit, the trio's training technique was quite unique. Rather than focusing on sheer attack power or defense like most of the frontliners, they put most of the emphasis on evasiveness and reaction time by having their own familiars try to hit them with low-powered versions of their own attacks. Not only did it encourage independent action from the familiars, it also prepared their trainers to respond to non-standard methods of attack (as each Tamed Monster had a ranged elemental attack in addition to close-quarters physical fighting). After all, if an enemy could attack you from across the room while you were engaged with another, you needed a heightened situational awareness if you wanted to be able to survive.

But while Silica's aptitude was impressive, especially for her age, Ash and Serena seemed downright _scary_. They moved to counter almost before the attacks were even launched, dancing practically unscathed through a veritable storm of flames, water, wind, electricity, and dragonfire. Entire conversations seemed to be shared with a single glance, though no words were ever spoken. For a moment she considered the possibility that they were somehow in a state of constant visual communication, but had to discard that hypothesis when they continued to somehow synchronize through an impenetrable wall of flames.

A brief flash of nostalgia flowed through her as she remembered feeling that kind of connection for herself once, back during the battle against Illfang. United by a single purpose, she and Kirito had temporarily been able to communicate on an instinctive level – but she hadn't felt anything nearly that strong anytime since, and she remembered feeling mentally exhausted afterwards. Between Ash and Serena, though, it looked almost as natural as breathing (which was understandable, since they had been battling side-by-side since the game began), and in that moment she understood Silica's assertions at a level she never had before.

Unfortunately, the two of them also had to battle against the most implacable of enemies known to man: exhaustion. In a five-against-two battle where the two are only allowed to defend, only one outcome could reasonably be expected. Surely enough, one of them finally slipped up – just a fraction of a second too slow to deflect an attack. And in keeping with the old adage _the more that hit you, the more that will_ , their HP was soon whittled down below halfway.

At that point, they called off the fight and she became privy to yet another outside-the-box tactic. Rather than completely ceasing all attacks, Pikachu and Braixen continued generating shockwaves and flames respectively – just strong enough to shave off about 10 HP every ten seconds. Thanks to the fact that they were being actively damaged by something other than a DoT effect, their moderate-strength Battle Healing continued to raise their HP faster than normal passive regeneration would have. Pina also sped up their recovery by positioning herself between them and using Heal Pulse.

Asuna shook her head incredulously. "You guys are just full of surprises, aren't you? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you could take on a Floor Boss by yourselves."

 _With all the Legendaries I've managed to survive against, you're actually not that far off the mark,_ Ash thought wryly. "Maybe so, but I'd much rather try my luck against a regular old miniboss." he said aloud, nodding his thanks to Serena for the health potion she handed him. "Speaking of which, I wonder if Kirito and Lisbeth are back yet. It's been a couple of hours – that should be plenty of time to beat something on that floor."

Serena checked her Menu. "Nope, it says they're still down there. I wonder why?"

The KoB's vice-commander sighed. "You two of all people should know how stubborn Kirito gets when he's on a mission. He probably decided to keep trying until he gets that metal, even if it means staying out overnight. And with how selfless he is underneath that tough-guy image he puts on, he probably gave up his camping gear for Lisbeth to use and didn't even think about keeping himself safe…"

"I know exactly how you feel." Serena said softly, glancing in Ash's direction with a gentle smile on her face as he engaged in a lively discussion with Silica. "That sounds a lot like a certain _someone_ my friends and I know and love."

"I know, right?" Asuna chuckled. "They're alike in more than a few ways, aren't they? Kind-hearted, strong-willed, self-sacrificing, ignorant about how others feel about them…"

Serena nodded in agreement with each description, but the last one made her pause. "Wait, what did you just say?" The flush that appeared on Asuna's face was as much of an answer as words would have been. "Are you saying you _do_ actually like Kirito?"

"Well, um, I… er, I don't really know yet, but I think maybe." Asuna admitted in a whisper. "I just didn't want to say anything in case it turned out to be nothing."

The performer placed a hand gently on her friend's shoulder. "I understand perfectly. When I first reunited with Ash, I felt the exact same way. Just be yourself and keep on smiling, and even if he never notices you like that you'll still be lifelong friends." A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "Not that there's anything wrong with hoping…"

Asuna smiled back. "You're right – thanks." All of a sudden, her face took on a mischievous air. "How about a deal? You don't tease me about this, and I won't tease you about Ash. That way we can talk to each other honestly without having to worry about each other's reactions."

Serena met her eyes and clasped her hand firmly. "Deal. Now let's go get something to eat before –"

A loud rumble echoed through the dungeon cavern, causing everyone to sweatdrop.

 _"Well, I suppose the stomach has spoken."_ Pikachu said, hopping off Ash's shoulder and heading for the door. _"Nothing we can really do about it but go get something to eat and reconvene tomorrow."_

* * *

By the time they met up the next morning, Kirito and Lisbeth still had yet to leave the 55th floor and Asuna was starting to get worried. "When I said 'overnight,' I didn't actually expect them to take all night…" she complained as they sat in a café waiting for their breakfast to be served. "And to top it all off, they're in one of those special dungeons that blocks private messaging, so I haven't been able to contact either of them!" She crossed her arms in indignation. "Honestly, I'm almost considering trying to get Klein to help me go drag them back here by force. Even if Kirito's fine, this is the longest Liz has been away from her store in months…"

Ash _hmmm_ ed thoughtfully. "Well then maybe this is just what she needs to encourage her to get out more. Back when I first met up with Serena again in the real world, she didn't really like camping out all that much – but just look at her now! Brave, strong, an incredible battler, an even _more_ incredible baker… but more than anything else, an irreplaceable friend. It's hard to imagine life without her there anymore."

 _"Could you have come any closer without actually saying it?"_ Pikachu muttered _sotto voce_ , resisting the urge to facepalm. Before anyone could ask him what he had said, though, their breakfast arrived and further conversation was abandoned.

As usual, Ash vacuumed up his food. "Ahh, that hit the spot." he announced, patting his stomach and leaning back in his chair to relax. Fletchinder flew out the open window to sun itself on the chimney, and Frogadier sat down cross-legged in the corner to meditate. Pikachu mimicked his Trainer's posture, stretching out on the table where it met the wall, while Braixen continued to elegantly take small bites of her own food.

Even having witnessed his appetite the night before, Asuna was still dumbfounded by how quickly and how much Ash ate. Based on Serena's reaction, though, she figured it was just something you eventually got used to (and maybe even one of the quirks Serena found endearing about him). She finished her meal at a much more sedate pace, taking the time to savor every bite and hoping it would distract her from worrying about Kirito and Lisbeth but actually thinking about them more by trying _not_ to think about them and why did feelings have to be so confusing?

A squawk from the window interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see Fletchinder muffling its beak with its wing. _"Kssshht – smoke in the smithy, I repeat, smoke in the smithy. The dwarf has returned to the forge, over. Ksssht."_

 _"And_ why _can't you tell us these things normally?"_ Pikachu asked in exasperation.

 _"Kssshht. We have a code 84-7A: Skeptic in the vicinity. Requesting permission to smack him silly."_

"Permission denied." Ash and Serena answered in unison before Serena translated the initial message for Asuna. "It looks like Lisbeth is back. You wanna go now or wait a few more minutes to give her a chance to set up?"

Asuna didn't answer, instead dropping a bag of Col on the table to pay for her food and walking briskly out the door. "Guess it's right now, then." Ash said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

As they approached Lisbeth's shop, they could hear the faint pounding of a hammer against metal. _She's already making a sword with it?_ Asuna wondered. _I didn't think Kirito actually needed a new sword, what with his Elucidator and all… Maybe I'm just overthinking things, and she let him watch because he helped her get the metal._ She barged into the shop, ignoring the NPC clerk, and made her way quickly into the back room. Sure enough, Kirito and Lisbeth were both in there, and she hesitated for a fraction of a second before rushing forward and enveloping Lisbeth in a relieved hug.

"Oh my gosh, Liz – I was so worried about you! Where have you been? I tried messaging you, but nothing would go through and all the map told me was that you were somewhere on Floor 55…"

Liz slowly peeled herself out far enough to speak. "Sorry about that. I kinda got stuck in a dungeon."

That did nothing to reassure her anxious friend. "You were in a dungeon all night?" she asked incredulously, forgetting that she already knew the answer. "Tell me you were careful, at least!"

"Of course I was." Lisbeth said, pointing to the other occupant of the room. "Kirito was there with me."

His presence finally registered fully with Asuna, and her nervousness spiked through the roof again. "K-Kirito?"

Kirito laughed sheepishly, scratching his head. "Hey, Asuna. Long time no see, huh?"

"Wait, you two know each other?"

"Of course we do. We're on the assault team together." Kirito said, slightly embarrassed. "She was actually the one who recommended you to me when we met up a couple of days ago."

As soon as he said that, Lisbeth's eyes widened in realization and she seemed to deflate slightly. "Oh, I see…"

This time, Pikachu _did_ facepalm from where their group was watching up on the staircase. _"And of_ course _this happens. There's_ always _a friend or acquaintance who falls for the protagonist even though somebody else already likes them."_

"What'd you say? I didn't quite catch that." Ash asked him as Asuna began chewing out Kirito for Lisbeth's odd behavior.

 _"Just lamenting how similar this is to TV show dramas…"_ Pikachu answered. _"You'd be surprised what the Nurse Joys not on duty watch during their free time."_

A surprised outburst from Asuna interrupted them. "HE _WHAT?_ "

Lisbeth chuckled sheepishly. "Yep. Attacked his own sword with it and busted it right in half."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Asuna apologized, voice choked up slightly.

"Don't be – it wasn't your fault." Lisbeth reassured her. She then leaned in closely to whisper something to Asuna, and for a second Serena could swear she saw the blacksmith with blue hair and a Slurpuff.

Asuna reacted almost the exact same way Serena had, though the coloring on her face was not quite as prominent. Before she could say anything, though, Lisbeth headed for the door with an excuse about 'picking up supplies.' She completely ignored the group on the stairs, stopping only to tell Asuna to 'hold down the fort."

 _"Character leaving under flimsy pretext, presumably to let out buried emotions? Check. Now all that's left is for the protagonist to go talk to her and clear the waters, and we'll be three for three."_

"What's he saying?" Kirito asked.

Serena, who had spent plenty of time in front of the TV recovering from her mom's 'riding lessons' (read: torture) was the first to catch onto Pikachu's meaning. "I think he said you should be the one to go find her, and that anything we might say would help more if it came from you. If you want, Fletchinder can help you search."

"Right, thanks." The black-coated swordsman swept out of the shop, already searching his menu for the Long-Distance Visual Enhancement mod to his Searching skill.

It took Asuna a few moments to understand, but eventually it clicked. "Wait, do you mean that she…"

"Yep." Serena confirmed.

"And she knows that I…"

"Probably."

"So you're saying that's why she –"

"If I'm not mistaken, yeah."

"Which means it _wasn't_ …" Asuna's eyes flicked over to where Kirito had been standing.

"Nope. Not on purpose, anyways."

"And I didn't need to –"

"No, you didn't."

Ash was incredibly confused, and nothing they were saying seemed to help. "I don't get it. What are you guys talking about?"

Silica, who was sitting up on a stack of crates, patted him on top of the head. "It's girl talk – you wouldn't understand."

"If you say so…" Noticing the blinking icon that indicated Clemont was trying to contact them, Ash decided to take the opportunity to leave before he got any more lost. "I guess I'll be waiting outside, then." _I'm gonna be talking with Clemont, so if you feel the need to say anything just tell me this way,_ he added telepathically, he and Serena having practiced enough by this point to carry on simultaneous internal and external conversations.

 _Gotcha,_ Serena replied. _Be sure to tell him and Bonnie hi for me!_

 _Sure thing._ Pushing open the door, he exited the shop and sat down next to the waterwheel behind it to accept the call. The sound of the wheel creaking and water flowing by were enough to obscure his end of the conversation from any eavesdroppers, so he wasn't worried about being overheard. "Hey there, Clemont. How's it been?"

A sigh came from the other end of the connection. _"Pretty much the same as it's been for the past week and a half on this end. I haven't been able to find out anything about Akihiko Kayaba anywhere I've searched – the closest I've come has been this guy from Kanto named Akihabara who proposed something similar to my invention several years back. His work was focused around total digitization, though, and he discarded his research in favor of studying Porygon and its evolutions after his test audience nearly had seizures as a result."_

"Oh yeah, I remember that… sort of." Ash chuckled. "Aside from asking Pikachu to Thunderbolt something and a bunch of bright flashing lights, all my memories between going in and coming out are kind of fuzzy. My memories from in here are a lot clearer, which just goes to show how far science has come since then, right?"

 _"You know it!"_ Clemont agreed, voice tinged with pride. _"Wait a minute, that was_ you _? I'm amazed your mom still let you travel after something like that! That was actually why Dad enrolled me at that electronics school – I accidentally blacked out Lumiose City for a day and a half while trying to make something, and he wanted to ensure that couldn't happen again."_

Ash stiffened up suddenly. "Uh oh. That's gonna be a big problem."

 _"What? What's the problem?"_

"We completely forgot to ask you to call our moms – they've probably been worried sick!" He shared the thought with Serena, who agreed after a similar initial surge of _oh-no-we're-totally-dead_.

 _"I don't think they'll be quite as worried as you think, but I'll still tell them. Remember, it's only been about a week and a half here, so from their perspective you haven't been gone that long."_

"Thanks a lot. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

 _"Not really. There was another program trying to track your player data – I think it was called MHCP001 or something similar – but I managed to stop it. Viola's sister Alexa stopped by earlier to see if she could learn anything from Clembot about the superhero with the Blaziken mask, but everybody was too busy to talk to her. I have to say, though, I didn't know Dad even_ had _a rubber band collection, much less one so extensive it would need organization."_

Ash chuckled. "Well, I guess everybody has their own hobbies. You invent stuff, my mom gardens, the guy with the Mega Blaziken is a part-time superhero, and your dad apparently organizes rubber bands. But honestly, that's not the weirdest thing he could be doing."

 _"I suppose you're right."_ Clemont admitted. _"And speaking of parents, I should probably call yours. Also, Bonnie says hi."_

"Tell her Serena and I said hi back, then."

 _"Will do."_ Clemont cut the connection just as Kirito and Lisbeth came back, walking along the banks of the river with Lisbeth in a much improved mood.

Ash waved at them with a grin. "I see you guys figured out whatever was the matter…"

Lisbeth smiled back, though it still seemed slightly pained. "Yeah, we did. And now that we've got that over with, do we have a story to tell you guys!"

* * *

Omake: Clemont's Calling Capers

* * *

After Clemont disengaged the NERVEGEAR Visual Communication Software, he immediately headed over to the phone to call Delia and Grace. But while Mrs. Paschall responded with the standard protective-mom why-didn't-you-tell-me-earlier speech, Mrs. Ketchum was utterly blasé about the entire thing.

"Oh, has my little Ashy gotten himself into another predicament?" she asked when she saw that Clemont was the one calling. "What is it this time, and which Legendary Pokémon is involved?"

"Erm, well, uh, long story short, he's stuck inside a time-accelerated videogame for a week and a half our time and about a year and a half in theirs. No Legendaries this time…"

Delia was much less worried than Clemont had expected. "Aww, my little boy's gonna be so grown up when I next see him!" she said, looking slightly sad that she was missing that part of his growth but also slightly proud. "By the way, where's Bonnie? I suspect Serena's in taking care of Ash right now, based on what Grace told me when we reconnected after our kids started traveling together."

Clemont lauged half-heartedly. "Yeah; funny thing about that is, they're both stuck in there. Bonnie's actually the one keeping an eye on them right now, since Ms. Grace isn't here yet and I'm talking to you. And knowing her, she's probably trying to make them hold hands while asleep…"

 _"I have a kindred spirit helping me from inside!"_ the aforementioned girl yelled from upstairs.

*sigh* "See what I mean? She's convinced that she's a natural matchmaker and refuses to accept that she might be wrong."

Ash's mom giggled, remembering her own adolescent 'matchmaker phase.' "Don't worry, she'll eventually grow out of it – at least until she grows up and has kids of her own. I actually wouldn't be upset if she was right this time, though. Serena sounds like she would be a wonderful daughter-in-law…"

Clemont groaned under his breath. "Oh no, not you too!"

"Ah, well. If Ash actually asked you to call me about this, it's probably serious enough for me to come and check up on him. I'll be there soon!" The video screen clicked to black and Clemont sat up straight again, wondering with slight apprehension what he had just gotten himself into.


	14. Chapter 13

**.**

 **Of Rabbits and Relationships**

(Ep 08 Part 1)

* * *

It had taken an hour-long conversation, during which Clemont repeatedly stressed that Ash and Serena themselves were not in danger (and, if anything, were saving other people's lives by participating), but Serena's mother had finally come to terms with the situation. And by "come to terms," I mean "chewed out everybody within earshot for having allowed something like that to happen to Serena because no matter how much they disagree she's still her mother and Ash had better take good care of her in there or else" before accepting Mr. Rosenfeld's offer to stay in their guest room so she could more easily keep an eye on her daughter, but that sounds much less elegant. For the moment, she was helping out in Meyer's electronics shop (since constant supervision would have required turning off the time acceleration permanently and kept them trapped longer) and around the house, which Meyer greatly appreciated.

She still made sure she would be present for the twice-a-day/once-a-month audio calls, though, and was relieved to hear during the first that they had not been part of the raid against Laughing Coffin during the previous month. She was also proud to hear about the responsibility they had taken to keep Silica safe, commenting that she "wished she had had that kind of experience before she became a parent." It was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek giving-my-kid-a-hard-time kind of comment, but thanks to the extra year and a half of experience Serena had she was able to take it in stride (though she did glance awkwardly in Ash's direction as she did).

The second time Grace talked to them, the conversation quickly devolved from updates on the game's progress into an impromptu planning session for Silica's upcoming birthday. Silica hadn't actually told them about it, so they wanted the party to be a surprise – but neither of them had experience planning surprise parties, which was why they decided to get advice from Serena's mom.

Her advice was to pick a location meaningful to Silica and have a convincing excuse for going there, if possible one that reduced the need to hide preparation as much as possible. With that in mind, they decided to hold the party in the cheesecake shop at which their friendship became official, under the guise of an (actually organized for once) celebration for defeating the Floor Boss that was currently being scouted. In order to justify the date without raising suspicion, they secretly asked Asuna to claim that her next "vacation day" wasn't until October 4th, and Silica bought it hook, line, and sinker.

The party was a smashing success, and each of the attendees found themselves on the receiving end of a ferocious bear-hug – then another when Silica opened her gifts. There was a Mithril Dagger from Lisbeth, a set of Stealth/Agility-boosting boots from Argo, a Dragon Scale necklace from Ash and Pina, and a certificate for a "Girls' Day Out" from Asuna and Serena. (Fuurinkazan had funded the party as a group gift, and so they hadn't bought her any individual presents.) But her favorite had to be the Ring of Angel's Whisper Kirito had given her, which gave her a way to contact her friends in an emergency without having to use her hands to type out a message. Even though it was only limited to one short recorded message per Friend per month, it bypassed normal PM restrictions, ensuring that she always had a way to call for help if needed. The only gift(s) she would have appreciated more would be if her two OTPs had finally gotten together, but that just wasn't in the cards for that day.

She finally decided to redeem the certificate on the 17th, so Ash met up with Kirito to explore the Boss Labyrinth that day. "After all," he had joked, "with my talent for getting lost, we're sure to find all the dead ends for the maps!" It was also in part because Grace had insisted that neither of them leave the Safe Zone unaccompanied for extended periods of time – but, being a very extraverted person, Ash had no qualms with that condition.

Kirito was much more introverted (though no longer the social recluse he claimed to have been before SAO), which meant that most forms of small talk were out of the question; instead, they socialized by fighting together. Ash's prediction turned out to be surprisingly accurate, and by the time they finished for the day the dungeon was about 90% mapped. As they made their way out, they decided to swap stories of different quests they had been on.

"…And I had thought we were done after that seventh boss – but then BAM, there's number eight." Ash chuckled, recalling the two-party raid quest he and Serena had helped Fuurinkazan with. "By that time, Serena was getting tired of all the back-to-back boss fights, and she got _so_ angry when she saw that there was another one. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she had some kind of Intimidation ability… I kinda wish you could have seen it."

"Ah. 'No fury like a woman scorned,' eh?" Kirito quoted back, unable to keep from grinning himself. He was slightly confused about the Capital Letters, but figured a bit of teasing was a more appropriate response. "But should I be worried that the part you wish I would have seen was an angry Serena? Do you think she looks cute when she's mad or something?"

Ash's reply still sounded distressingly oblivious to him. "That's not the first word I would have used, but I can't say she's not." the Trainer said matter-of-factly, as if it was completely obvious and therefore not out of the ordinary. "Am I supposed to ask you the same question now, only about one of your girl friends like Asuna?"

 _What does he mean, 'one of my…' Gosh dang it, Ash!_ the black-coated swordsman thought, finally noticing the whitespace in between Ash's words. What came out of his mouth instead, though, was a panicked "Hold on a moment, Asuna's not my girlfriend!" A heated flush rose to his cheeks as he realized the (not necessarily unwelcomed) implications of what he thought Ash had said.

Ash stopped in his tracks to look at him. "What do you mean? She's a girl, and she's your friend, so how is that not a girl friend?" He ran over Kirito's words in his mind once again, noticing something he would not have before the game. "Wait a minute – the way you said that sounds different from what I said somehow. Is there a difference between girl friends and girlfriends or something?"

 _Finally, we're getting somewhere!_ Kirito thought in relief. "Um, how do I put this…? A girlfriend is someone who means more to you than just a regular girl friend. Not in the 'best friend' way, though, even though the categories can overlap sometimes." he clarified, seeing the question on Ash's face. "Someone's girlfriend _can_ be their best friend too, but for a lot of guys a different person fits each category. Guys' reasons for choosing them vary – some prefer looks, others prefer personality – but if a guy knows a girl that he thinks he wants to be 'more than friends' with, he usually asks her if she feels the same way (often by taking her on a private outing). If she says yes, people then call them a 'couple' or an 'item,' and they are considered each other's boyfriend and girlfriend. I've never had one myself, though, so I can't accurately tell you what exactly happens afterwards. You following me?"

Ash's brow furrowed as he filed the information away for later consideration. "I think so. More than a regular friend but different from a best friend, right? And it's not official unless they decide to see if it goes both ways?"

"In the ideal case, yes. Sometimes people hook up – sorry, that's another way of saying 'become a couple' or 'go on a date' – to make themselves look good or make other people jealous, but actual mutual affection tends to make relationships last longer. If it's long enough, a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship can actually lead to the couple deciding to get married, though some people do that without the whole 'dating first' part. Also, having multiple girlfriends or dumping one for someone new is generally frowned upon."

"Now _that_ I can actually understand." The gleam in Ash's eyes showed that he was being completely serious. "If somebody did that, that would mean they didn't really care about the person they were… dating, I think you called it? They'd just be in it for themselves, and even though they might not go as far as Grimlock did they'd still be operating from the same ideals. That's the kind of person I just can't _stand_!" For a second, the air almost seemed charged with electricity as his connection to Zekrom flared up again.

That triggered a rustling in the bushes, and Kirito instinctively threw the knife he had been fiddling with in that direction, trusting that if it was Pikachu or Frogadier their reflexes were fast enough to defend themselves. Fortunately, his aim was slightly off, and instead of landing harmlessly on the ground it impaled the monster that had just tried to flee, which immediately burst into polygons.

A window appeared in front of him, displaying his spoils, and his eyes widened. Since he had already communicated his main point to Ash, the sight of the dropped Ragout Rabbit's Meat drove any remaining conversation on the topic out of his mind. On the one hand, players heralded the meat as the tastiest food item in-game, but it had to be prepared by a chef with a mastered or almost-mastered Cooking skill. And of those he knew, the only two close enough to track down were currently enjoying an Official Girls' Day Out, which even _he_ knew better than to interrupt. On the other hand, an item that rare would sell for a minimum of 100,000 Col – more than enough to buy a new set of light armor and an upgraded coat from Ashley's Tailor Shop. Plus, the longer he had it in his inventory the more likely it was someone would try and steal it from him (or be more motivated to keep trying if they realized he had it).

 _Selling it is,_ he decided, pulling out a Teleport Crystal. He wouldn't normally use one just to return to town due to the expense, but the aforementioned theft issue and the profit from selling the meat made the cost worth it. He called out "Teleport, Algade!" and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Ash briefly opened up his connection with Serena to see whether or not it was safe for him to meet up with them again. _We're not done yet, but I think we will be before too long,_ she told him in response. _How was your training?_

 _It was fine, I guess. Kirito gave me a few pointers about some… stuff…, and then it looked like he got a rare item of some kind. We should be at Agil's shop in Algade for the next half hour or so if you guys are finished by then._

 _Got it. Thanks, Ash._ She sent a pulse of appreciation across the link, as had become almost customary by then. Custom did not make it any less authentic, though, and he responded in kind before following Kirito's example and teleporting to Algade.

* * *

When they arrived at the shop, Agil was haggling with another customer about the price of some Dusk Lizard Hides they were trying to sell him. Though kind-hearted, the bearlike shopkeeper held fast to the adage _a fool and his money are soon parted_ – and his gruff exterior made it easy for him to intimidate such fools. Even so, he definitely had a sense of fair play (there were even rumors going around that his actual prices were no less fair than the NPCs and that the rest was donated to mid-level players struggling to reach the front lines, but nobody could solidly confirm them).

"Thank you, come again!" he called as the player exited. "And who do we have here?" Chuckling, he reached out to bump fists with Kirito and Ash. "Well, well, if it isn't two of my favorite customers…"

In what was clearly a greeting based on a private joke, Kirito replied, "Eh, you're just saying that 'cause neither of us is dumb enough to buy any of your dollar-store junk."

Agil snorted and shook his head. "You're never gonna let that incident with the wicker basket and the pelican go, are you?"

A smug grin answered him. "Nope, never."

"I don't get it, am I missing something?" Ash asked.

They shivered in concerto. "You _don't_ want to know." Kirito told him firmly. "We had to fight the same humanoid chicken-duck thingy forty-nine times, and it nearly ripped off my face!"

"We're just glad we didn't have to change Floors after the battle." Agil added, glancing nervously at the scrap pile in the corner. "It was most decidedly _not_ rad." Instinctively, Ash scanned with his Aura, but he didn't sense anything hiding behind the pile except a big cow sculpture. (It wasn't until later, when he was rummaging through their guild apartment's fridge for a midnight snack, that he wondered how you could even _have_ a scrap pile in a game where broken things immediately disintegrated – but that's neither here nor there.)

"Okaaaay…" he finally said, deciding that it was unhealthy to be concerned that he wasn't at the center of weird stuff for once. "Weren't you here to try and sell something, Kirito?"

Kirito snapped out of his traumatic flashback. "Huh? Oh, right." Opening his menu, he scrolled down to the Rabbit's Meat and showed it to the shopkeeper, whose eyes grew wide.

"H-h-how the – how the heck did you get ahold of one of these?" Agil stuttered in awe. "I've never seen an S-class ingredient this rare before! C'mon, tell me how you got it – please!"

"I was having a conversation, there was a Ragout Rabbit in a bush, I threw a knife at it, and it died." Kirito told him, deadpan. "No epic quests or anything like that."

Agil sighed. "You disappoint me, man."

"I disappoint myself sometimes…"

Ash was slightly distracted from the conversation when he sensed the girls approaching the shop. _Oh, are you guys done now?_

 _Yep. Unfortunately, we were shadowed all day by Asuna's "bodyguard" Kuradeel. I get the feeling she doesn't like him very much…_

 _Well, that explains the extra person, I guess…_ Ash noted. _I suspect he doesn't hold a high opinion of you three either?_

 _Nope. His surface thoughts are pretty much screaming "I hate visiting these slums" – I'd hate to see what he thinks of Agil. Speaking of which, here we are!_

Asuna, Silica, and Serena walked in the door unnoticed by Kirito and Agil, just in time to catch the tail end of Kirito's reply. "...What's the point? It's useless trying to prepare something like this with less than 950 or so in Cooking, otherwise we'd just burn it."

Serena was quick to catch on to what was happening. _"Here's your opportunity,"_ she whispered to Asuna. _"Remember what we talked about this morning? Go for broke!"_ She gave the rapier user a little push forward, only for her to open and close her mouth fruitlessly.

Fortunately, Ash was there to save the day. (A small step down from saving the world, but hey – he'd take what he could get.) "I think your problem may have just solved itself." he told Kirito, calling his attention.

Kirito turned around, and his eyes immediately zeroed in on Asuna, who was standing there with her hand partially outstretched. He excitedly grabbed it with both of his, shocking her back to reality. "I've found my chef!" he breathed, his excitement also evident in his voice.

Once she got over the new shock of the situation she was now in, Asuna was somewhat incredulous. "Wait a minute – are you _asking_ me to cook you something? Who are you, and what have you done with Kirito?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? I'm still me…" Kirito protested.

"And since when do you go around grabbing girls by the hand and declaring them your personal chef? Is there something you haven't told me?"

He dropped her hand like a hot potato, attempting to save the situation. "Sorry, I was just so excited to have the chance to try an S-class food item, and I figured your cooking would make it taste even better!"

Kirito wasn't sure whether it was Asuna's next words or the fact that it was _Asuna_ saying those words that made him feel nervous. "Why Kirito, I'm flattered that you think so highly of me…" she said in a sing-song tone. "But if I do this for you, what are you going to do for _me_?"

His next carefully prepared attempt to diffuse the situation by teasingly offering her just a small taste fizzled out before it began, replaced instead by an almost incoherent "…half?" Latching onto the idea, he developed his proposal further. "You cook the food, and I'll split it with you." Her reaction caused him to rethink what he had just said, and heat flooded his own cheeks as he realized how she might have interpreted it.

Agil didn't seem prepared to offer him moral support, still dumbfounded by his potential loss, and when he glanced at Ash all that came to mind was their earlier discussion. _I suppose it wouldn't reflect well on me if I gave him advice that I couldn't listen to myself…_ he thought, mustering his courage. _And based on how she reacted, she might be thinking something similar._ "So, um, how about it, Asuna? Would you like to eat dinner with me tonight? I provide the meat, you provide the kitchen?"

Serena and Silica each pumped a fist triumphantly when Asuna accepted, though the moment was marred slightly by Kuradeel's shout of outrage. "I must object, ma'am!" he yelled, somehow managing to make the last word sound condescending. "As vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, you should not be associating with shady characters such as him – much less going on a _date_ ," he spat distastefully, "with this _ruffian_."

Asuna (not unwillingly) overlooked the 'date' comment in her irritation at Kuradeel. "And as vice-commander of the Knights, I order you to leave me in his more-than-capable hands. Everyone here can personally vouch for his character, and this 'ruffian,' as you call him, is one of the strongest players in this game. I wouldn't even be surprised if he was more than ten levels higher than you, _Kuradeel_."

 _Imagine the spectacle it would have been if he had tried this outside…_ Ash said to Serena, mentally chuckling as Kuradeel was roasted by his superior officer.

 _I know, right? Even working together, it would have been hard to keep people from noticing. As it is, I'm just glad Asuna got the chance to do what she wanted today._

 _Wait, I thought it was Silica's "Day Out" today. Did you get to do something you wanted too?_

Serena mentally facepalmed. _You just watched her do it… kinda. She managed to get Kirito to ask her on a date so they can figure out whether or not they actually like each other._

 _Oh_. Ash replied. _Based on what Kirito told me earlier, does that mean they're boyfriend and girlfriend now?_ He sent across a memory of the conversation to explain where he was coming from.

 _Ahh… no. This is kind of to see if they want to, and if they do_ then _they will be._

 _Got it._ There was a brief lull in the conversation as Kirito and Asuna left, Kirito promising to keep his report for Agil about the rabbit's taste below two pages. The three Trainers left soon after, looking forward to Serena's mastered-but-still-not-S-class cooking. A few minutes of walking later, though, Ash spoke up again. _Something still seems odd, though._

 _What? What is it?_ she asked, sending a pulse of concern across the link.

 _It's just that now that I think about it, what he said about boyfriends and girlfriends sounds almost exactly like what we've been doing for these past few months except for the whole 'official' part. And if I remember correctly from back when we thought Silica had died, we even have the 'mutual' part down. So does that mean he was wrong? Is there something special about it being 'official?' The only way I can think of answering that question is to test it out…_

* _sigh* Only you, Ash…_ Serena thought, not bothering to hide it. _Only you could make asking someone to be your girlfriend seem like something completely mundane yet totally mean it when you ask the question. That means yes, by the way._

And that was it, just a question and an answer. They were distinctly underwhelmed by the lack of bursts of ecstasy, giddy laughter, and/or other cliché occurrences; instead, it felt more like a subtle confirmation of something they had already known for a long time. _I don't get it – he made it sound like being 'official' was a huge deal!_

 _Maybe we're just an odd case_ , Serena reassured her boyfriend. _After all, not all people can communicate with each other telepathically like this…_

 _I guess you may be right. On the bright side, though, this means we don't necessarily have to adapt to any big changes._ Before they could say anything else, though, they reached the inn and Silica pulled Ash away. "C'mon, let's go play with Pina and the others so Serena can make her best meal ever! She may not have that rabbit, but I'm sure she'll come close!" Smiling, he allowed her to lead him out of the room, the young girl chattering all the while.

* * *

[So, how'd it go?] Serena messaged Asuna later that night, once Kirito had left her home in Selmburg. [Was it as nice as you thought it would be?]

[*chuckle* What do you mean, the Rabbit or the 'date?']

[Either/or – whichever you'd rather talk about.]

Asuna's next reply was a few moments in coming, and seemed slightly disjointed as if she couldn't quite transcribe her thoughts linearly. [Well, there's not really much to say about the food. It's one of those things that you can't describe, you have to experience it for yourself. Towards the end, he mentioned that he might want to do this again, so I invited him to party up with me and go exploring the dungeon together tomorrow. Do you think I should make us sandwiches again, or something a little nicer? Oh, and I've gotta figure out a way to ditch Kuradeel too…]

[If it's just going to be a picnic lunch, I don't think you need to make it that fancy – sandwiches should be fine. And speaking of a little nicer, how do you think Kirito liked that new outfit we picked out for you from Ashley's yesterday? Did it "knock his socks off" like Silica said it would?]

A clear sense of giggling accompanied the next message. [He was so speechless that it was kind of adorable. How about you? Any big new reactions from Ash at the one we found you?]

[Nope.] Serena answered truthfully. [He said the same kind of things he always does, in pretty much the exact same way.] Left unsaid (because she thought it unnecessary due to the fact that her own perspective had shifted so little) was the juicy tidbit that she now knew he felt the same way she did.

Asuna didn't know that, however, and so her response was tinged with sympathy. [Aw, that's too bad. I'm sorry about that.]

[Don't be.] Serena said back. [It's not your fault, and besides – something like that just wouldn't be _Ash_. I'd much rather him be honest than not be himself just to make me feel good.]

[And _that's_ why the two of you are perfect for each other.] Asuna stated with finality. [I just hope he finally sees that sometime. But anyways, we should probably go to bed now. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow…] The little live-chat icon grayed out, indicating that she had closed her PM window, and Serena followed suit. Equipping her pajamas, the Performer extinguished the lamp and pulled up the covers, allowing the soporific qualities of her boyfriend's sleep to lure her into slumber as well. As she drifted off, she thought she could almost physically feel his hand in hers – which was silly, since he was completely asleep in the other room.

* * *

Outside, in Prism Tower, Bonnie chuckled at her handiwork before sneaking back out of the room.

* * *

Omake: A Trip to the Fridge

* * *

Sometime close to midnight, Ash was woken up by his rumbling stomach. He was confused for several seconds when he noticed, considering that Pikachu had told him he normally sleepwalked when he went to get midnight snacks. But hey, who was he to turn down a chance to eat more of his girlfriend's cooking?

As he thought this, he noticed that his hand seemed oddly warm (evidence that Bonnie's sabotage remained as yet undetected, though he didn't know that) – but his stomach led him to abandon that train of thought. Opening the fridge door, he started scanning the shelves to find the leftovers of their dinner from that evening.

The picnic basket holding the lunch she had packed for the next day caught his eye, reminding him of the incident in Agil's shop earlier. _I wonder what could be so traumatizing about a wicker basket and a pelican…_ he wondered idly as he pushed it to the side to look behind it. _That weird monster they talked about sounds more like it'd do that, but it's kind of odd that they thought it would be behind a scrap pile in Agil's shop._

Something seemed odd about that last thought itself, and he ran back over his words again. _Come to think of it, why would there even BE a scrap pile in Agil's shop? Or even in SAO at all, for that matter? Stuff just shatters when it breaks here!_

 _"Mmph…life…universe…forty-two…"_ Fletchinder muttered from its nest up in the rafters, obviously still asleep.

 _I guess that's as good an answer as I'm gonna get,_ Ash decided, cleaning out his now-empty stew bowl and placing it in the drying rack. He turned off the lamp and went back to his bedroom, followed by murmurs of _"Thanks for all the fish…Don't Panic…where's my towel?"_


	15. Chapter 14

**.**

 **Floor Seven-Four and the Beast of Yore**

(Ep 08 Part 2/Ep 09)

* * *

 **Note: Updating super-early in the morning today before I go to bed because I have to be out of the house all day once I get up. I promised that updates would be on Tuesdays and Fridays, and so I'm keeping that promise, by golly! All works referenced in this chapter belong to their respective original authors, unless said rights have been legally transferred since their conception.**

The next morning, they arrived at the Teleport Gate just in time to see an irate Asuna throwing a thoroughly embarrassed Kirito several dozen feet before he finally crashed into a pillar. None of them could tell for sure due to how far it was away, but for a second or two it looked like the standard Immortal Object window was saying something about [Distance: 15 M – New Record!]. "Watch where you put your hands, you idiot!" she yelled, crossing her arms protectively as she stood back to her own feet.

Kirito took a deep breath, pushing the angry retort that briefly surfaced away before it could reach his mouth – but not before it showed up on Serena's surface-thoughts scan. _Me? You're the one who landed on me unexpectedly!_ Instead of saying that, however, he drew on the pleasant memories of the night before to remind him to keep Asuna's feelings in mind. "I'm really sorry about that, Asuna," he said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I totally didn't mean to…"

His remorse must have been just as evident on his face as the flush in his cheeks, and Asuna's posture relaxed. "Apology accepted." The Gate lit up again, and she quickly ran behind him, whispering " _play along_ " in his ear as she did so. "Oh no, save me!" she exclaimed melodramatically as Kuradeel appeared in a flash of blue light.

"Milady, I insist you cease this foolishness at once!" the KoB knight announced, stepping down off the podium.

"What's his deal?" Kirito asked loudly, guessing that Asuna was deliberately trying to draw attention.

"He was lurking around my house this morning, and I think he was even trying to look in through the windows!" Though she was exaggerating her immediate peril, her indignation was genuine, and it sparked a matching emotion in Kirito.

"I'm telling you once again, it was for your own protection." Kuradeel said. "What with your habit of ditching your escorts and your insistence on associating with _ragamuffins_ such as him, you make me seriously doubt your decision-making ability. Which is why you need to trust me when I tell you that you won't be safe with this knave!"

Kirito stepped forward, forgetting that he had planned to follow Asuna's lead on this. "You just crossed a line there, Kuradeel. While I'm perfectly willing to overlook you insulting me, I won't let you insult Asuna's intelligence like that. _Especially_ since she's your vice-commander, which means Heathcliff chose her for a reason. I'm taking responsibility for her safety today, and if you have any problems with that you'll have to take them up with me."

Kuradeel _hmmph_ ed in response. "Big words you've got there," he spat, sending Kirito a Duel Invitation. "Now let's see you back them up!"

Just before he accepted, Kirito remembered Asuna's presence again and looked to her for confirmation. "Don't worry." she reassured him. "It's not like I don't have witnesses to prove to Heathcliff how this happened when I tell him about it, and maybe this way Kuradeel will actually learn something."

Ash was distracted for a moment by a flash of familiar malicious anticipation somewhere in the crowd, but with how tightly they were packed it was impossible to distinguish who it was. He turned back to the duel, Aura Vision still active, just as the pre-duel countdown ended. Kuradeel and Kirito dashed towards each other, swords shining with the light of activated Skills. Sensing the beta tester's certainty, he watched as closely as he could when they clashed (coincidentally right in front of the Brigade).

For a few seconds his perception switched entirely to Aura Sight, and time slowed to a crawl. The scene faded to resemble a holographic display – smooth blue outlines representing the life of the players, flowing green code signifying the execution of a Sword Skill, and computer-generated items taking the form of gray polygonal wireframes. Kirito's sword clashed with Kuradeel's at the nexus where the most polygons connected on the latter, streams of code eating away at each other before Kirito's sword tapped the nexus gently. Upon contact, the Skills attempted to directly deconstruct the swords via point-of-contact – but the connection of fault lines was much more susceptible to damage than the flat surface of a polygon, and so Kuradeel's broadsword instantly shattered.

The instant ended, and time resumed its normal pace. Kirito sheathed his Elucidator again, while Kuradeel simply stared at his now-broken weapon. "I… feel like this was longer." he stammered out before the remaining piece shattered and he fell to his knees in shock.

"Are you ready to let me escort Asuna now?" Kirito asked. "Or do you still insist on insulting your commander's intelligence by insulting me?"

Kuradeel's face twisted in rage. "You just proved my point, _boy_. The only way someone like you could have broken my sword is if you had cheated!"

Ash was about to interrupt by pointing out that Kirito's tactic had been perfectly legitimate and actually required _more_ skill than random hammering would, but was beaten to the punch by Asuna. "That's enough, Kuradeel – he beat you fair and square. As your vice-commander, I'm ordering you to stand down and return to HQ. If you want to dispute my judgment, you can file a formal complaint with Commander Heathcliff; just remember that I'm well within my rights to file a counter-claim."

The Knight scowled, but was unable to formulate a proper retort. As he teleported back to Granzam, where the KoB HQ was located, PoH smirked from his location in the crowd. Ever since the disastrous invasion by those accursed Clearers, he had been looking for a way to get revenge on Kirito (since it wasn't until his interference with the Golden Apple job that there had been organized efforts to take down Laughing Coffin). But while the In Plain Sight modification to his Hiding skill allowed for stationary concealment in crowds, it was hardly up to the task of assassinating a frontliner with nearly-maxed Searching. Now that there was a green player with a grudge against Kirito, however, he had a potential in – provide Kuradeel with access to a Paralysis poison and have him pretend to be looking to reconcile, and then they could both have their revenge. The crowd was beginning to disperse, and he took the opportunity to flee the plaza.

His plan almost fell apart at that moment, only saved from immediate discovery by the timely arrival of Klein and the three guild members he was working with that day. The samurai's loud greeting distracted Ash and Serena from their scans of the crowd just long enough for him to escape unnoticed. "Yo, guys! How's it hangin?"

Ash laughed, pounding fists with the raucous redhead. "You just missed seeing Kirito humiliate Asuna's jerk of a bodyguard is what."

Silica's eyes glittered in awe. "You should have seen it – he broke that guy's sword with one swing!"

"Haha, trust Kirito to go and make a spectacle of himself." Klein joked, giving each of his Honorary Younger Sisters™ a hug. "You guys ready to go help clear the Boss Labyrinth with us?"

"You know it!" A synchronized cheer/fist-pump combo later, the seven-man group left for Floor 74.

* * *

As expected, they encountered dead end after dead end – most of which had already been mapped, considering their proximity to the entrance. Klein and his men didn't seem to care, though. For them, the adventures and shenanigans they got involved in were just as vital to clearing the game as the mapping they managed to do, which was why the other three-fifths of Fuurinkazan was off raiding a dungeon down on Floor 67. It built a sense of camaraderie among the guild, which increased their efficiency and knowledge of each other's weaknesses and strengths, which in turn made them less likely to die in combat. His strategy obviously worked, considering that since the beginning of the game Klein had not lost a single man.

The samurai himself was amazed to look back and see how far Ash and Serena had come since the beginning of the game. Each one's positive traits seemed to have bled over into the other; Ash's recklessness was now tempered by Serena's caution and Serena had acquired a large portion of Ash's boldness. At one point during lunch he pulled Silica aside to ask if the two of them had finally wised up to the other's feelings yet, but her answer disappointed him.

"Nope, they've been acting pretty much the same ever since they met me. Unless they've been hiding it from me this whole time, I think they're just as clueless as ever."

Klein clenched his fist. "All right, that settles it. Next 'Boss Cleared' party we have, we're locking them in a closet or something until one of them tells the other. I may be eternally single, but what they could have deserves to become reality!"

Unbeknownst to the two of them, Ash had been practicing sensory enhancement again and had heard every word. _Locking us in a closet, eh?_ he said telepathically. _I admit that it is kind of hard to tell the difference, but isn't that going a little far?_

 _I know – that sounds like a plan from a cheesy romance novel or something,_ his girlfriend replied. _How about we turn the prank around on them by_ actually _keeping it a secret? It won't be that hard, just pretend to still be oblivious whenever one of them asks you a question and I'll pretend to be annoyed that you still haven't caught on._

 _I think I can probably do that,_ Ash agreed. _Should we try and keep it a secret from Bonnie, too?_

 _I dunno, wouldn't that mean keeping it secret from our moms?_

 _I get the feeling they'll kinda know anyway,_ he reassured her. _From what I've heard, moms can just sort of tell about that sort of thing. Oh, looks like we're leaving!_

Very shortly afterwards, they ran into (surprise, surprise) Kirito and Asuna again. _"I swear, it's like he's supposed to be some kind of TV show protagonist with how often we run into him."_ Pikachu groaned.

Klein, who did not have the advantage of heightened senses to tell him who it was, was legitimately surprised. "Hold on a moment! Kirito, is that you?" To be totally fair, the two frontliners had been relaxed enough enjoying each other's company that it took Klein several seconds to reconcile Kirito with the no-nonsense swordsman he was used to seeing. "And what are you doing here partied up with…" Unfortunately for his foot and his gut, his Brock Circuits kicked in before he was able to make the other connection. "Hi there, I'm Klein! I'm 24 and sing– OOF!"

"That's _Asuna_ , you doofus!" Serena chastised him, removing her elbow from its resting place in his sternum. "And their day was going just fine before you interrupted them, thank you very much."

Klein quickly recovered from the blow to his stomach (and not-so-minor blow to his pride; he was sure to get plenty of ribbing for that later) just in time to do a double take. "Wait a minute, does that mean…?" His voice changed from embarrassed to teasing. "Kirito, you sly dog – how long have you been holding out on me? I mean, you and _Asuna_? I shoulda seen something like this coming from a mile away! Were you two in on it?" he asked, fixating Serena and Silica with a betrayed glare.

"You never asked." the Dragon Tamer told him cheekily, sticking her tongue out in a playful manner. "Plus, it's kind of recent. As in 'yesterday' recent."

An expression of mock horror appeared on Klein's face. "And he didn't think to tell me immediately? Me, his first friend since release day? I am shocked and appalled."

Kirito tapped his foot rapidly. "I'm standing right here, you know."

Silica replied with her best 'innocent little kid' face. "Yes. Yes we do. And being teased about it by your friends is an intim… inter… uh, a vital part of a new couple's relationship!"

Kirito's retort, though no doubt witty, was cut off before it could reach his mouth by the sound of a large number of approaching feet. The entire group turned to see who it was, and were met with the sight of a twelve-man squadron in heavy armor.

"Isn't that those guys from Floor 1?" Silica asked. "You know, the ones who insisted that we leave the Monument Chamber by 7:00?"

"Yep, that's The Army alright." Asuna confirmed. "But I thought they stuck to the lower floors and focused on numbers – I wonder what they're doing up here. I mean, look at the men; they're exhausted."

Sure enough, as soon as the leader called for a halt the rest of the soldiers collapsed to their knees, gasping for breath. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Corvatz of the Aincrad Liberation Force," he introduced himself, standing at attention.

Klein decided to take point in the conversation. "Klein, of Fuurinkazan. The guy you're staring suspiciously at is Kirito: solo by trade, softie at heart."

"Hey!" Kirito protested, calming down when Asuna placed a hand on his shoulder.

Corvatz scoffed. "Him, a solo? Yeah, right. But on to business – has the area ahead been cleared?"

"I dunno, you'd have to ask them." Klein indicated Kirito and Asuna with a jab of his thumb. "We've been exploring different parts of the dungeon."

"The main corridor has been cleared, though the monsters in the side paths have probably respawned by now." Kirito said. "We were just getting ready to head back to town and publish the completed mapping data."

"Right. Then I suppose you wouldn't mind handing it over?"

Klein was about to launch into a tirade about how hard mapping was and why should Kirito just give his hard-earned data away, but then he realized that Kirito had just announced his intent to do exactly that. Come to think of it, while they were clearing the lower floors there had been several times when Argo had published very helpful 'anonymously contributed updates' to the Labyrinth Maps – had that been Kirito the whole time? (While a good portion of them were, another large fraction was actually an attempt to weaponize Ash's ability to get lost. Those contributions had mostly dried up after they took responsibility for Silica, though.)

"Here you go." Kirito said, materializing a copy of the map data. "I would advise against trying to challenge the Boss if I were you, though."

Corvatz stiffened, fist closing around the virtual parchment. "Thank you for your cooperation, but I believe that's _my_ decision to make."

"He's right, you know." Asuna cut in. "We took a look inside the Boss Room, and you'll need at least a full squadron or two of fresh soldiers to beat it, if not more – not two parties of half-exhausted troops."

"Nonsense! You do not know my men!" Corvatz announced arrogantly. "I assure you, once they see the enemy they will find their second wind. Soldiers, move out!" His squadron pushed themselves to their feet wearily and began marching again, following their leader deeper into the dungeon.

Klein watched them leave with a worried expression on his face. "You sure they're gonna be OK? They're not really gonna challenge the Boss like that, are they?"

"I sure hope they're smarter than that…" Asuna added, voice betraying the same worry.

Kirito sighed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on them." Upon seeing the grins from the rest of the group, he protested, "What? It's not like I've built up a reputation as a loner who doesn't care about anyone else, is it?"

Ash and Serena sent Fletchinder ahead as an advance scout, and the rest of the group began following at a somewhat slower pace. Klein took the opportunity to pull Asuna aside. "Hey, sorry about earlier. Can I talk to you about Kirito for a second?"

Confusion flitted on her face for a second, along with a faint wash of pink. "Uh, I guess so…"

"Listen, even though he may get on your nerves sometimes and it might seem like he's addicted to combat, he's still a good guy at heart. I haven't seen the two of you interacting all that much, but I can already tell that he definitely cares about you – so take good care of him, will ya?"

She glanced at his retreating back, and a gentle smile appeared on her face. "Don't worry. I can promise you, he's in good hands with me."

* * *

As they followed the men from the Army, the nine-person group stuck to the side pathways so that they wouldn't reveal their presence. This meant extra combat, as the monsters there had in fact respawned, but consistent rotation ensured that everyone remained fresh.

"Well, we've checked out everywhere except the Boss Room." Klein said, watching Dale and Kunimittz tag-team against a Lizardman Soldier. "Do you think maybe they used Teleport Crystals to go back or something?"

Kirito shook his head. "I kind of doubt it. Since the ALF isn't a clearing guild, they're not likely to have the funds to use Crystals that freely. Plus, wouldn't have Fletchinder come and told Ash or Serena if that happened?"

As if waiting for that cue, Fletchinder swooped into the clearing. Unfortunately, the news it carried was much graver (evidenced by the fact that it forgot to get into character). _"You were right, they attacked it anyways. They need backup, NOW!"_

Even though he couldn't understand the words, Fletchinder's tone was unmistakable. "Those idiots…" Kirito growled, taking off in the direction of the Boss Room followed closely by Asuna. Klein got ready to follow himself, but the universe chose that moment to conspire against his aid and spawned several more Lizardmen between his group and Kirito's five. "Catch up as soon as you can!" Kirito yelled back as he overtook the Brigade.

The run to the Boss Room was spent in grim silence, broken only by rapid footfalls and the beeping of Kirito's menu as he PMed the map data over to Klein. They slowed to a halt just before entering the doors in order to assess the situation.

"You guys okay in there?" Kirito called, attempting to get a sense of how dire the situation was from the perspective of those in danger.

"Oh, we're just peachy!" one of the soldiers yelled back in panic. "We're almost out of healing potions and our emergency Teleport Crystals aren't working, and this demonic beast is still on its first health bar, but thanks for asking!"

Serena scanned the area and sure enough, the Boss Room was surrounded in the same Trick Room-esque anti-teleportation field that had spelled the demise of the Moonlit Black Cats. She wasn't the only one who had made that connection; Kirito's mind was all but screaming his memories of that fateful day to anyone who could hear. _Is there any way we can distract that thing without getting trapped ourselves?_ he thought wildly.

"Fletchinder, Flame Charge!" Ash ordered, hoping that would be enough to gain its attention. Unfortunately, as soon as the avian Pokémon entered the inner of the two concentric circles on the floor the Gleam Eyes' snakelike tail seemed to gain a life of its own and struck out at Fletchinder with blinding speed.

"Quick, shield yourself with Steel Wing!" Serena called – and just in time, too. Rather than a meaty _thud_ , the tail's platelike exterior impacted Fletchinder's wings with a resounding _clang_ and knocked it back towards the wall. The moment the bird left the inner circle, the tail resumed its former state as simply an appendage, a fact which did not go unnoticed by Asuna.

"Nice try, but it looks like the system expects you to be at Boss Fights now and prepared accordingly." she said curtly, fingers flexing on the grip of her rapier. Honestly, all she wanted to do at that moment was rush in and save them – but her promise to take care of Kirito conflicted with that desire.

The Boss's next strike scattered Corvatz' men even further and sent the man himself flying out of the chamber, health headed rapidly towards zero. "I… I can't believe it…" he stammered, watching his HP bar drop.

"Pina, Heal Pulse!" Silica ordered, managing to halt the drain just before his life expired. She and Serena moved the catatonic Colonel to the side of the path and rested him up against the doorframe. Meanwhile, the sight of someone almost dying and another about to was enough to spur Asuna into action.

 _And I thought I was the one with the hero complex,_ Ash mused as he and Kirito followed Asuna's wild charge. "Help get the soldiers out!" he yelled to Klein, who had just arrived. By this point, Asuna was in full-on Lightning Flash mode and there was no hope of catching up to her before she could reach the Boss.

Unfortunately, she was operating off of muscle memory from earlier that day, and her lack of a Switching partner showed. The Gleam Eyes punched her with its massive fist and sent her flying backwards, before raising its sword high for the coup de gracé. The Boss's tactics now worked against it, though, allowing Kirito and Ash to knock its blade to the side with a simultaneous sword strike.

The immediate danger averted, Ash then moved to help carry out the surviving ALF soldiers. Kirito held the Boss off for a full minute as they did so, until finally Ash felt a surge of irritation and internal conflict coming from the black-coated Beater. He saw Kirito's eyes flash around the chamber, a look of resolve filling them when they landed on Silica and Pina helping to heal those who were most critical. "Ash, Serena, can you two hold him off me for about ten seconds?" he asked, noticing that Klein and Asuna each had a soldier leaning heavily on them.

"You got it!" Ash answered, connecting to his and Serena's shared Combat Awareness. This fight was more difficult than they had been in the past, since even a small mistake would be fatal – even if not for them, for the ALF members scattered across the floor. Any strike, no matter how small, would erode their remaining HP to zero, which meant they could not dodge with impunity. There were even a few times when Ash had to reinforce his arms with Aura to keep the Boss's sword from sliding off his at the wrong angle, and only the very limited form of Future Sight that Serena had managed to kludge together enabled him to react fast enough to do so.

"All right, I'm ready – switch!" Ash and Serena jumped back, sensing Kirito charge in from behind them, and immediately sheathed their weapons and hoisted the nearest noncombatants up to carry them out. Meanwhile, Kirito dashed in close to the Boss, Elucidator pushing its thrust parallel to his shoulder. For a moment it looked as if the Gleam Eyes was about to pick him up in its other hand, making his move tantamount to suicide – but then the Dark Repulser that Lisbeth had forged him materialized in _his_ other hand, delivering a savage uppercut to the creature's jaw. Everyone except Serena, who had seen what he was planning, and (by extension) Ash was now staring at Kirito open-mouthed, since nobody in the entire game had been able to dual-wield anything larger than daggers, small hatchets, or claws like Argo's before.

Actually, scratch that – there was one other occupant who didn't fit that description. The Gleam Eyes' jaw was still clenched tight as it reeled from the blow, though it quickly recovered and swung at Kirito with a devastating overhead chop.

At least it would have been devastating if not for the fact that Kirito's mastered Parry skill now extended to _both_ his swords, allowing him to halt it in its tracks with a cross-block. The resulting improvised Metal Sound grated on the ears of all those present, halting only when the massive blue snake-goat chimera retracted its sword to process the new data it was receiving.

"Starburst…STREAM!" Kirito yelled as he took advantage of the opening, dual swords glowing with the light of a Sword Skill.

As the system took command of Kirito's body and committed him to an all-out offense, Pikachu nodded in approval. _"Good, he remembered to yell out the attack name. That means it should be about 150% stronger."_

 _"You know, you need to stop assuming that this world works like a TV show."_ Frogadier told him, walking by while helping Braixen team-lift another soldier.

 _"Hey, it's worked so far, so I see no reason to change."_ Pikachu took a closer look and noticed that Kirito's HP was getting dangerously low. _"Uh oh – looks like I'd better go get Pina."_

But as fast as Kirito's HP was decreasing, his swords were moving even faster, tracing whorls and curlicues of blue light as they sapped the Gleam Eyes' HP at an incredible rate. Their speed was so high that even using combat precognition, Ash and Serena were unsure whether or not they would be able to avoid getting in the way if they tried to help.

Eventually, however, the Boss's AI figured out the pattern and grabbed hold of Elucidator using its free hand. Asuna gasped Kirito's name in alarm as it held his arm in place, sword moving downwards in a swift stab. Fortunately for him, there was still one strike left in the combo – and since his arm was locked in place, the system shifted his entire body around it to carry out the motions, rescuing him from impalement by the skin of his teeth.

His sword stabbed the Gleam Eyes firmly in the gut, causing it to explode into a shower of polygons, and his eyes flicked up to his HP bar just as Pina's Heal Pulse washed over him. He didn't know whether it was her assistance that kept him from dying or whether he would have survived on his own, but for now he was just too tired to care…

Asuna rushed to his side as he collapsed. "Kirito!" she yelled frantically, gathering him up into her arms. Tears flooded her eyes as she sat down and laid his head in her lap, ignoring the massive "Congratulations!" banner above them.

Ash's mind flashed back to the Tree of Beginning, when the Mew who lived there had been suffering from a similar exhaustion. _I have an idea,_ he told Serena, silently communicating the plan he had come up with. She shielded the two of them from notice, and he walked over and placed a hand on Kirito's chest, grabbing hers with the other to strengthen their connection and sharpen his focus. The beta-tester's Aura Signature was pulsating weakly, punctuated by an occasional erratic flutter as his life-force attempted to stabilize his consciousness.

Taking a deep breath, Ash focused his own Aura down into his hand, making it glow blue as he attempted to transfer pulses in time with the natural rhythm of Kirito's own Aura. Almost immediately, he realized why Sir Aaron and his Lucario had exhausted themselves while saving Mew, and why Lucario had pushed him out of the way: to replenish another person's Aura with your own, you must first force it into a frequency compatible with theirs. And unless that person's Aura pulsates at a frequency that resonates with your own, as Serena's did for him, your own Aura then destructively interferes with itself – all but tearing you apart from the inside out.

Thankfully, he was only attempting a slow regeneration rather than a massive dump, which decreased the effect immensely. Serena was also there, boosting his natural amplitude to further decrease the destruction's relative magnitude, and so rather than feeling like he was coming apart he just felt like he was getting tired.

When Serena felt Kirito's mental energy steady, Ash halted the transfer and the two of them moved back to the side of the room. By that point, the lights had dimmed and everyone else was standing in a circle waiting for Kirito to recover.

"Ughhh… Asuna?" Kirito groaned, opening up his eyes slowly. "Why's everyone staring at me?" He sat up and faced Klein. "What, did something happen that all of you felt the need to tell me?"

The redheaded samurai spluttered for a few seconds before finally pulling together a coherent sentence. "Did something happen? You just soloed a freakin' _Floor Boss_ , for goodness' sake! Did you even stop to think about how worried we might be – how worried _Asuna_ might be?"

That shut him up quickly, especially when she started crying into his shoulder, and he shifted around to make it less uncomfortable for her, rubbing small circles on her back to try and calm her down. "Sorry about that. I just wanted the fight to be over, and I didn't want to let anyone else die while I could help it. I guess I forgot that I'm still a part of 'anyone else'…"

Corvatz approached him on trembling legs, before collapsing to his knees and bowing in respect. "My men and I owe you our lives." he said, voice quavering. "I was a fool, and it led to the death of two valiant soldiers before you rescued us. I was so focused on providing a spectacle to improve the guild's reputation that I completely ignored the safety and well-being of my men. Can you ever forgive me?"

Perhaps it was due to the last lingering remnants of Ash's Aura as it finished rejuvenating his system, but Kirito could sense Corvatz's sincerity and remorse. He looked into the Lieutenant Colonel's eyes, voice hard. "Just make sure you don't make the same mistake again. And don't forget – you need to make it right with your men, too."

"I understand." Corvatz replied in a subdued tone. "I only hope they'll understand as well."

"Hey, you're not off the hook either, Kirito!" Klein interrupted. "Why in the _world_ did you think you could go toe-to-toe with a Floor Boss on your own? And what the heck _was_ that?"

Kirito sighed, indicating the three Trainers with a nod of his head. "I was originally trying to keep it a secret so people wouldn't accuse me of cheating, but when I saw those three using their own special abilities to help save the ALF soldiers, it just felt wrong not to use it. It's an Extra Skill called Dual Wielding, and it does exactly what it says: lets me use two swords at once."

A series of murmurs spread through the assembled players. "Dude, where'd you get it?" Klein asked excitedly. "What are the conditions?"

"That's just it." Kirito said wryly. "I don't know. It just showed up in my Skills List randomly one day, and I have no idea what triggered it. It might even be a Unique Skill like Heathcliff's Divine Blade…"

"Ah, I see. And you didn't say anything because you thought people would be jealous you had something they didn't?"

"Yep, got it in one."

Klein chuckled. "Well, none of my men are that kind of person. None of us are gonna be jealous that you have something like that." His eyes flicked over to where Asuna's head was still buried in Kirito's shoulder, even though she was no longer crying. "Or something like _that_."

Kirito's face flushed, but he didn't deny it.

"Well, we're gonna go activate the Teleport Gate now. You comin' with us, or are you just gonna stay here with your girlfriend while you recover? Yowp!" Serena and Silica had grabbed him by the ears and were dragging him towards the stairs. "I guess that's a no, then. Stay safe!"

It wasn't until halfway up the staircase that he realized something he had forgotten. "Hold on a moment, I thought this game had a Pain Absorber program!"

His ears abruptly stopped hurting, accompanied by teasing laughter from his friends.

* * *

Omake: Moms Always Know

* * *

Out in Ash and Serena's world, Grace Paschall woke up just in time to hear Meyer's house phone ringing. Since he was downstairs puttering around in the basement (AKA out stopping crime as Blaziken Mask) and Clemont and Bonnie were in bed, she decided to see if she could take a message. "Rosenfeld residence, may I ask who's speaking?"

 _"It's happened."_ the voice on the other end of the line announced in a hushed tone. _"Have you felt the shift?"_

Grace blinked sleep out of her eyes. "Is that you, Delia? Why are you calling in the middle of the night?"

 _"Oh, nothing. Just the fact that my mom-senses went off and told me that my little boy's all grown up now. Didn't you feel it too? Why do you think you woke up at this hour?"_

Serena's mother opened her mouth to ask what she meant, but suddenly realized that Delia was telling the truth. "Darn it, now I owe you $50! I really thought this wouldn't happen for another half year at least."

Delia chuckled quietly on the other end of the line for a few seconds before Grace had another brainwave. "Wait a minute – it _has_ been more than half a year for them, which means that I was right too! How do we figure out who won the bet now?"

 _"Hmmm… you make an excellent point. How about we just say that they won?"_

"That works." Grace agreed. "I wonder when they're going to tell us themselves. Bonnie says she's been really hoping for this to happen."

 _"$30 says they try and hide it from Bonnie once they're out, but she finds out after a week."_

Grace smirked. "Oh, you're _so_ on. I call her noticing before the week is over."

 _"Deal."_

"Deal."


	16. Chapter 15

**.**

 **Duel of the Fates**

(Ep 10 Part 1)

* * *

Unfortunately for Klein and Silica, their 'secret plan' had to be put on hold for a couple of days. After Asuna had filed for a leave of absence from the KoB to spend time with her (now official) boyfriend earlier that morning, Heathcliff had challenged Kirito to a duel on the basis that he was stealing resources from an already stretched-thin guild. The conditions were as followed: if Kirito won, Asuna got her requested leave – but if Heathcliff won, Kirito would have to join the Knights.

Kirito had accepted, since (as Asuna had pointed out to him) the two of them got to stay together either way. The potential of actually being in a guild again didn't seem as daunting as it used to either, thanks to the efforts of the Brigade and Fuurinkazan. Their continued friendship had given him strength to move forward after The Incident, letting it shape him but not define him.

Especially Ash and Serena – even though he had never said anything to them, they had seen him at his worst on that day, which gave them a starting point from which they could empathize with him. And not only that, there were times when it seemed to him that they understood his self-doubt perfectly without him even straying near the topic. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would swear one of them could read minds or something similar.

All of those things combined had let to his current position: camped out in Agil's shop for refuge from player paparazzi as he awaited his duel the following day. Normally there would be a 'Floor Cleared' party going on at about this time, but Ash and Serena had guessed (eerily accurately – that mind-reading hypothesis was looking more and more promising) that he wouldn't be able to relax enough to enjoy it and so had convinced Klein to hold off until later. Instead, the rowdy samurai had gone and placed an official bet on the outcome of the duel.

"I'm telling you, based on what I saw yesterday, you actually stand a pretty good chance of beating Heathcliff!" Klein encouraged him as they sat around the small table in Kirito's temporary room. "His Divine Blade skill might make him almost invincible in normal combat, but that's always been against monsters – against programs. Very complex adaptive programs, yeah, but you've got something they don't: human intuition. With that backing up your Dual Wielding skills, there's a high possibility you could actually win this thing!"

 _"I disagree."_ Pikachu piped up. _"This is about the time when some sort of Diabolus ex Machina normally shows up and makes the protagonist lose, kickstarting a character development arc that culminates in a rematch where he performs much better than before."_

* * *

Up on the rooftop, Frogadier sneezed.

 _"Gesundheit,"_ Braixen told him, incinerating the bit of Frubble he used to wipe his nose clean.

 _"Thank you."_

* * *

"What'd he just say?" Klein asked, confused. "He'd better be agreeing with me…"

Ash opted for a tactful translation. "He's making his own prediction based on the assumption that SAO follows TV show logic."

 _"Hasn't failed me yet!"_

For the next few seconds, Ash was immeasurably glad that nobody present chose to dwell on the implications of Pikachu (who, for all they knew, was Cardinal-generated) knowing about TV shows, much less 'standard plot devices.'

Instead, Klein brushed it off. "I'll just trust what I've seen for myself, thank you very much. It's too bad all the ringside seats were snapped up before we heard they were being sold, though, or else we could've been your official cheering section."

Kirito smiled feebly. "I appreciate the thought, but at least I know you'll be there. Asuna gets to watch from right next to the arena gate, but that's just because she's vice-commander."

Klein's grin grew wider. "I take back all my earlier statements. Just having your girlfriend there to encourage you from that close is all you need to cinch your victory, no matter what skills either person has! From what I've seen, there's no way Heathcliff can match that – he almost seems married to his job." His smile suddenly turned sullen. "I sure wish I could have someone like that, but no… Even Ash has someone, and he's as dense as a rock!"

A hand on his arm stopped him. "I know what you're trying to do, but that's not going to distract me. Thanks for trying, though."

"No problem, buddy." Klein said, standing up. "C'mon guys, let's let Mr. Emo here mope in private."

 _Man, he really is out of it!_ Ash thought as he exited the room, fielding pointed questions from Klein. _He didn't even notice when I deliberately made the same girl friend/girlfriend mix-up that he explained to me himself! I hope this just means he'll fight that much harder tomorrow…_

* * *

The newly unlocked coliseum on Floor 75 was full to the brim with players the next day thanks to the KoB's advertising campaign. After all, who wouldn't be willing to spend 1500 Col (2000 for ringside seating) to watch the 'Dual Wielding Demon' Kirito, who had allegedly utilized a fifty-hit combo to single-handedly defeat a boss that had slaughtered an entire platoon of top-tier soldiers, duke it out with the 'Invincible Paladin' Heathcliff, whose impenetrable shield had managed to hold the line against Floor 50's boss for ten minutes without his health ever dropping into the yellow zone? And with the size of the arena, even if only half the seats were filled the KoB's available funds would all but double, allowing them to purchase higher-tier equipment and maintain their status as 'strongest front-line guild.'

 _"I'm telling you, this only supports my theory."_ Pikachu said as they made their way through the crowd to find their seats. _"I mean, what are the chances that Kirito defeating that boss would both cause Heathcliff to challenge him to a duel_ and _unlock a Floor with a suitable arena at the same time?"_

"Like you're one to talk." Ash retorted. "I can almost guarantee that we've run into weirder coincidences – and neither of us is a TV show protagonist, are we?"

The crowd abruptly quieted save for a disturbingly Kricketune-like chirping.

 _"Nah, I think we would've noticed cameras following us around if we were."_ Pikachu answered dismissively as the hubbub resumed. _"Especially with all of the facial close-ups and reaction shots that tend to show up in those things. I'd say you're just a natural weirdness magnet, that's all."_

Their conversation abruptly came to a halt when they came within earshot of Klein, who waved the group over to their seats. Thanks to the Familiar Communication skill, Silica was under the impression that Pikachu's talk about TV shows was due to Kayaba programming his advanced Familiar AI to introduce random character tics, but Klein was much more likely to notice the flaw in that logic.

"Hey, man. Have you thought any more about what I asked you last night?" Klein asked him in a hushed tone, obviously trying to keep the girls from hearing.

That was enough to clue Ash in to what Klein was _really_ asking, and he adopted a clueless look. "Yeah, but I still don't get it. Why do you think Serena would care if I went to buy fruit with her? And we go to restaurants for dinner with Silica all the time…" _Heh heh, this is actually kind of fun!_

He saw Klein's arm quiver, as if he was trying to physically keep himself from facepalming. "All right, all right, keep it together, Klein." the samurai muttered to himself, deciding on a different tactic. "You've noticed what's happened recently with Kirito and Asuna, right? Do you ever think you might want to have something similar happen with Serena?"

Ash snickered mentally when he realized how that question could be interpreted. "No, that already happened a long time ago." he said honestly, banking on the different interpretations of 'a long time' to keep him in character. _Bingo,_ he thought as Klein's eyes widened. "I mean, back when we first met at that summer camp years ago we were just acquaintances – but then when we met back up we became friends, and then later best friends! And since I couldn't exactly call her a guy friend, that means that she was my girl friend from that point on, right?"

 _Why does Klein feel so annoyed?_ Serena asked him while Klein attempted to calm himself down again.

He made sure to keep a neutral expression on his face as he replied. _Just putting our prank into action. Actually, he's taking it rather well – I thought he'd blow his top before now._

A flash of amusement surged across the link. _All right, then. Make sure you don't overdo it, though – we don't want him to get too suspicious._

 _I don't think that'll be a problem this time_ , he answered. _It feels like Kirito and Heathcliff are getting ready to enter the battlefield, which means he's probably gonna forget about it soon._

Ash got the sensation that Serena was shaking her head skeptically. _If you say so…_

Further conversation was cut short by the crowd standing to its feet and cheering uproariously as the combatants took the field. Thanks to a suggestion from the KoB's PR officer, each fighter was equipped with a Broadcast Crystal whose output was relayed through the arena's built-in Crystal array – which ensured that the sounds of the duel (both the fight and the customary smack-talk) could be clearly heard by all the attendees.

"I must admit, I didn't believe the Council's estimates about player turnout." Heathcliff said as they faced each other in the center. "I wasn't under the impression that this would be such a big deal."

"Ya think maybe I could get a cut of the profits, then?" Kirito asked, only half joking. "I mean, it's not every day that players get to see the strongest player in Aincrad challenged to defend his title."

Heathcliff smirked. "That's not up to me, since I'm not the guild Treasurer. And I think you must be mistaken – I'm the one who challenged you."

The grin Kirito sent back was just as predatory. "Oh really? I think you'll be singing a different tune once I kick your butt into next weekend…"

* * *

 _"You fight like a cow."_ Pikachu quipped, garnering a raised eyebrow from Ash.

"How is that an insult?" he whispered back. "I mean, what about Whitney's Miltank or my herd of Tauros? Couldn't they all be considered cows of some kind?"

Pikachu looked affronted. _"It's the principle of the thing."_ he defended himself.

* * *

Back on the field, Heathcliff's expression didn't change. "Say what you will, but once this is over you'll be an official member of the Knights of the Blood Oath. In fact, I'll even consider this your first mission."

Kirito's eyes flashed. "Bring it on." In response, Heathcliff manipulated his menu and sent him a request for a First-Strike Duel.

For the benefit of the players not close enough to see the windows, the KoB commander outlined the rules out loud. "I, Heathcliff of the Knights of the Blood Oath, challenge you, Kirito the solo player, to a First-Strike Duel. Whichever one of us can breach the other's defenses and land a clean hit first will be declared the victor. In the event that neither player can land a solid hit, the one whose HP falls below 50% first will be the loser – and they will be held accountable to the terms agreed upon beforehand. Do you accept this challenge?"

Kirito pressed the 'Confirm' button and placed his hands on the hilts of his swords. "I accept your challenge, and I hope you won't be too disappointed when I don't join your guild."

If Ash had been closer to the arena, he would have seen a second framework of polygons slowly taking shape about half an inch beneath the one representing their player avatars. The primary framework, since it was based off the players' physical data, adhered very closely to the shape of their Aura Signature, which itself was given shape by their original bodies. In most cases, the approximation was close enough that neither could be isolated by a cursory inspection – but the secondary Duel Avatar was much more distinct, as its only purpose was to determine whether or not was considered 'clean.' Things like clothing damage or light scratches, which were not deep enough to create contact with the Duel Avatar, still resulted in minor HP loss but would not end the duel or declare a winner.

Not that the specifics of how the Cardinal System managed the duel mattered to the spectators – they were just there to see a fight between two legends. Neither combatant's stance gave anything away as the last few seconds counted down, and it appeared as if both were aware of that fact. Kirito's swords were both held in a medium-height guard position, equally able to be used for offensive or defensive Sword Skills. Kayaba, on the other hand, was standing slightly behind his cross-shaped tower shield, muscles relaxed and sword held down and slightly backwards. His sword was much lighter than either of Kirito's (though no less durable), meaning it could be moved to counter much faster than a heavier one.

Of course, high enough Strength and Dexterity stats made the weight distinction negligible, which allowed Kirito to explode into action at the instant the System chimed the end of the countdown. His swords glowed with the light of a low-level Skill, intended to gauge Heathcliff's reaction time while not overcommitting himself.

As expected, the red-armored paladin managed to deflect both blows before retaliating with a shield-first charge. Though the spectators in the crowd could see what Heathcliff's sword arm was doing, the position of the shield kept Kirito from being able to accurately read his opponent's moves.

In response, he darted around to Heathcliff's left side. If the paladin intended to hit him there, he would have to either cross his arms awkwardly or else spin around and risk exposing his back. Even if it didn't result in getting in a hit, it would still put Heathcliff off his game slightly, and –

The Broadcast Crystal in his chest pocket faithfully transmitted every part of his entirely dignified grunt of surprise and the _whoosh_ of air being forced out of his lungs, triggering winces from the crowd. Only a last-second block with the flat side of Dark Repulser blunted the impact of Heathcliff's shield-as-a-sword attack enough to prevent it from registering as a clean hit and ending the duel, and Kirito instinctively used a Sonic Leap to gain some distance.

"Impressive reaction time." Heathcliff complimented him, having noticed that the kinetic force of Kirito's attacks had actually managed to shave off some of his HP. "I can see how you got your reputation."

Kirito grinned back as the adrenaline of the fight kicked in. "Same here – your defense is pretty much impregnable! But now that I've seen your technique, are you ready to find out what happens when my unstoppable swords meet your immovable shield?"

Heathcliff raised his sword again in salute before slashing down to the side. "Indeed. Show me the full extent of the power you've discovered in this world, Kirito. I won't be satisfied by anything else!"

The two began trading blows again at high speed, in such close succession that the time necessary to write them all would far outweigh the time each one actually took. To the spectators, it appeared as if the center of the arena was filled with a swirling storm of color surrounding a rapidly rotating core of red and black. The gaps between Sword Skills were so small that the swords themselves almost seemed to be made of pure light, the energy coating them making a deep _thwum_ each time they swung through the air. And the whole time, every scuff of a foot, every heavy breath, and every clash of sword on sword or sword on shield was faithfully transmitted by the Crystals.

As Kirito and Heathcliff each gained a further understanding of the other's combat styles, the blows actually accelerated until they were moving too quickly to actually execute their Sword Skills. Instead, the muscle memory they had developed through repeated use of said Skills moved their bodies through the motions, sheer force of willpower pushing them to and beyond normal execution speeds. Neither had yet managed to land a solid hit on the other, but near misses and poorly-timed blocks whittled away at both combatants' HP.

For a fraction of a second, just as both were hovering slightly above 50%, Serena felt Heathcliff's certainty waver. This obviously caused his reflexes to slow slightly, since Kirito decided the speed of the System would be enough to win and activated Starburst Stream. Heathcliff managed to block the first eight or so blows, but the eighth hit knocked his shield far enough off to the side that nothing short of a miracle could block the next strike. Kirito's expression was triumphant as he swung his swords in for hits nine and ten, calculating the speed of Heathcliff's shield as it inched back towards the center and finding it wanting.

About half a second before Elucidator struck, Ash briefly felt the stretching sensation of time acceleration/deceleration, and his eyes glanced up to his HUD in alarm. _It hasn't been a month yet – did Clemont have some kind of emergency?_ Pikachu felt the sudden tension in his shoulder and looked at him quizzically.

Ash was confused when neither he nor Serena saw the icon signifying active communication. Before he could ask Serena for her opinion, though, the crowd surged to its feet with a roar. Looking back at the arena, he saw Kirito sitting on the ground with his HP in the yellow and his swords dropped a foot or two away. The status screen several feet above the combatants announced Heathcliff as the winner, drawing cheers from half the crowd and shouts of dismay from the other half.

 _"I knew it!"_ Pikachu crowed smugly. _"Take that, you skeptics!"_

Several feet away, Klein was grumbling under his breath. "And I thought for sure Kirito was gonna win this. I have to admit, though – that was some feint that Heathcliff performed there."

Oddly enough, the paladin himself seemed just as annoyed as Klein. He was too far away for Serena to detect any more than surface emotions from without an active scan, and interference from the crowd made any such attempts inadvisable. _I wonder what he's so upset about._ _He almost seems angry that he won…_ she thought as he turned stiffly on his heel and stalked off the field, ignoring the similarly confused glances Kirito and Asuna were sending his way.

* * *

Since Kirito was now an official member of the Knights of the Blood Oath, he now had to abide by all the rules, regulations, and protocols of his new guild. Unfortunately, not having been part of a guild since the Cats (much less one as structured as the KoB) meant that learning them all would take an extended period of time. The fact that each of the sub-leaders had their own schedules to keep dragged his orientation out even further, and the guild-wide training day scheduled for the day after meant that plans for the 'Floor Cleared' party had to be put on hold even longer.

As such, Silica decided to make a small amendment to her and Klein's plan. When Ash and Serena offered to take her to a semi-fancy restaurant for an informal celebration, she claimed she "didn't feel like going out that night, but don't let that stop you two from having a good time!"

"Don't worry, we will." Ash answered with a huge grin on his face. "I hear the food there is amazing!"

She heard a sigh from Serena and turned to see her looking very put out. "Of _course_ that's what you're excited about…" the Performer muttered just loud enough for Silica to hear.

 _I'll have to try and do something about that,_ she thought, looking to Pina for inspiration. _Wait a minute, that's it!_ "You know what else I've heard is amazing?" she asked Ash. "Seeing the flower gardens in Floria late at night – you two should try it."

"Uh, sure, I guess." Ash said in response. He obviously didn't understand what she was suggesting, but hopefully with some help from Klein she would be able to make him understand.

As soon as they left, she messaged the samurai. [Convinced Mr. Clueless to bring the bird to the garden. Requesting assistance for Operation Density 1.5: Awkward Scenarios.]

[So… basically, you need my help pranking Ash and Serena? And what's up with the codenames? This is a private message!]

[Because it makes it fun, of course! I'm thinking maybe a tripwire at the top of a hill, playing romantic music in the background, someone in disguise bumping into them so he has to catch her…]

* * *

Silica was fuming. _I don't get it – it's just not fair!_

So far, her plan seemed to be a complete wash. Her anticipation had been dashed to pieces multiple times when the two of them avoided the prank triggers by the slimmest of margins, either stopping just shy of a tripwire, unintentionally stepping out of the way of a collision, or encountering some other lucky coincidence that (from what she had seen of Ash's luck) was just par for the course. And to make matters worse, every time they avoided one it sprang on another one of the couples wandering around the garden, often inciting a fierce bout of snogging.

Even she and Klein, who were in disguise as an older brother and younger sister for spying – ahem, _observational_ – purposes, nearly fell prey to the 'twisted ankle' pit trap they themselves had devised. The only reason they hadn't was because twisting your ankle was literally impossible in SAO thanks to the way avatars were generated.

"Y'know, I'm starting to get the feeling this was a waste of time." Klein whispered to her as they watched their targets sit on a bench from behind. "They didn't even notice when you played the song from that old movie about the mermaid who fell in love with a prince! I would've thought at least she would recognize the tune…"

Silica sighed. "I guess you're right. I just hope your plan works better."

Deciding it was about time to walk away, Klein turned around to do so – but he couldn't help looking back one last time. The sight of Silica's sad face as she did the same confirmed his belief and made him turn and walk away again, right up until he tripped over his tied-together shoelaces and fell flat on his face.

Silica stifled a giggle, remembering when Kirito had experienced the same fate… _right after trying to push Ash and Serena closer together!_ she realized suddenly. _Is that what Pikachu meant when he said to watch out for running gags?_

"Hey, is something the matter?" Ash asked, coming over to investigate the disturbance. "We just heard a crash from over here, and – wait, Silica? What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to stay at the apartment."

Klein rolled over and sat up. "Ugh, and of course he notices _that_." he mumbled, opening his menu to equip a different set of boots. _I didn't even think these boots HAD laces…_ "She decided she wanted to see the gardens for herself and asked me to escort her since you two were otherwise occupied." he bluffed, hoping they wouldn't see through his flimsy excuse.

"But she already knew we were coming here…" he replied, sounding puzzled. "Why didn't she just come here and join up with us?"

"Erm, well, uh, you see –"

"Non-specific excuse!" Silica interrupted, grabbing Klein and dragging him off to the Teleport Plaza.

Ash and Serena finally let their grins show on their faces as they bumped fists.

"Nice job." Ash congratulated her. "I can't believe they thought we'd fall for a pit trap, though."

"Well, to be fair, they've never had to deal with Team Rocket." she reminded him, snaking an arm behind his back and leaning on his shoulder. "I thought the 'waiting until the last second to stop' was a nice touch, too. By the way, do you know the movie Klein was talking about?"

"Nope. The closest I can remember is one of the water ballet shows my first traveling companion's sisters roped her into where she dressed up as a mermaid, but I don't think that's what he was talking about. And speaking of remembering things, I had almost completely forgotten about the shoelace trick you played on Kirito – pulling that out again was a great idea!"

"I thought it fitting, considering that last time I used it was when a certain _someone_ ," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, "started to realize how he felt about me. I think Pikachu would call it 'dramatic irony' or something like that."

 _"Speaking of Pikachu, he told me to pass along a message to you two."_ Frogadier said, walking up hand-in-paw with Braixen. _"He says that it's getting to be about time for another plot point, and that Kirito's probably going to get into trouble again tomorrow."_

"Then I guess we just need to stick close to him and Asuna. I think Asuna said the KoB usually goes out in parties of five, so if we volunteer to fill out the last three slots and then just stay within shouting distance, we should be there to help out if he needs it while still letting them have their privacy, right?"

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow…"

* * *

Omake: When There Were Knights, and They Got Into Fights

* * *

Heathcliff raised his sword again in salute before slashing down to the side. "Indeed. Show me the full extent of the power you've discovered in this world, Kirito. I won't be satisfied by anything else!"

The two began trading blows again at high speed, in such close succession that the time necessary to write them all would far outweigh the time each one actually took. To the spectators, it appeared as if the center of the arena was filled with a swirling storm of color surrounding a rapidly rotating core of red and black. The gaps between Sword Skills were so small that the swords themselves almost seemed to be made of pure light, the energy coating them making a deep _thwum_ each time they swung through the air. And the whole time, every scuff of a foot, every heavy breath, and every clash of sword on sword or sword on shield was faithfully transmitted by the Crystals.

Eventually, illusion became reality, and Kirito's sword felt like it became much lighter mid-swing – almost as if its weight was only in the hilt. It traveled in a blue-colored slash from upper right to lower left, intended to knock Heathcliff's shield in that direction so he couldn't defend against Elucidator's follow-up strike.

Instead, it sliced cleanly through the shield with a _hiss_ of melting metal and severed the hand holding it, leaving behind a forearm stump that looked like burnt flesh. Both combatants stood there perplexed, swords humming and glowing with the three primary colors of light, as the Cardinal System generated the smell associated with a failed attempt at cooking centered around Heathcliff's shield arm.

The status window announcing Kirito as the winner appeared above their heads, breaking them out of their shock, but Kayaba seemed more concerned with the small red bird perched inside one of the numbers on the Duel Timer.

 _"_ _I thought I told you NO!"_ he yelled, chasing after it and swinging his red blade wildly.


	17. Chapter 16

**.**

 **A Punishment Deserved, But Not The One Needed**

(Ep 10 Part 2)

* * *

 **A/N: To those worried about me potentially abandoning this story, have no fear! In an effort to maintain a consistent update schedule, I decided to create myself a buffer of extra chapters just in case my schedule didn't allow me any writing time (which turned out to have been the right choice). Because of that, I already have up until the end of the Aincrad arc written - only five more chapters after this one. After that, there may be a gap before I start posting the ALO sequel, since I might not have time to backlog enough chapters before heading back to Uni.**

 **On another note, do any of you have suggestions as to what I should call this series of AU stories, since it will be continuing on past Aincrad? The only thing that comes to mind right now is "the _Tuesday_ -verse," but that only has to do with the (TV Tropes-inspired) title, not the fic itself. Enough rambling, though - enjoy the chapter!**

The next morning, the three Trainers took the Warp Gate to Floor 55 to propose their plan to Asuna, only to find her pacing in the courtyard of the KoB HQ irately.

"I appreciate the sentiment," she told them once they explained why they were there, "but even I can't override Commander Heathcliff's orders. I was originally going to partner with him as a two-person group today, but Godfrey (he's in charge of the combat division, by the way) decided he needed to do a private assessment of Kirito's abilities by having him run through this Floor's Labyrinth, and the Commander agreed with him."

"I have to agree with Pikachu on this one." Silica said. "This sounds like the perfect scenario for something to get Kirito in trouble, even if he is over-leveled for the monsters there."

"I'm glad to see you think so highly of my chances." Kirito remarked dryly as he emerged from the barracks in his new uniform. Thanks to the funds raised from the duel, the KoB had been able to commission him a white-with-red-trim version of his Blackwyrm Coat from Ashley's Tailor Shop – though it unfortunately did not give the same bonus to hiding. He tugged at the sleeves irritably. "But did they have to make the uniform so flashy? I feel like a walking traffic light…"

"Actually, that's one of the _least_ flashy in the guild." Asuna told him, taking his hand reassuringly. "The whole purpose of the Knights is to clear the game and be seen doing it, so our uniforms kind of _have_ to be attention-grabbing."

"I know that, but compared to my old outfit it feels as if I'm holding a bright neon sign that says 'hey monsters, come and eat me'!" he groused half-heartedly.

Silica scrolled through her menu and sent him a Trade Request. "If you feel like that, then how about you borrow this for the day? That way, if you get in trouble and are stuck fighting you can call us to come rescue you."

Kirito looked at the window to see the Ring of Angel's Whisper he had given her at the beginning of the month. He was about to open his mouth to refuse, but the looks Silica and Asuna were giving him convinced him otherwise. "All right, if it'll make you feel better." he conceded, accepting the request and equipping the Ring. "I've gotta go meet with Godfrey outside now, so take care of yourself, okay?" He gave his girlfriend a quick hug and headed out through the smaller Field Gate.

Asuna watched him leave with a smile on her face. "Thanks for that." she told the Brigadiers. "That really took a load off my chest. Godfrey likes to do his evaluations under 'realistic emergency circumstances,' AKA no crystal usage, so having the Ring available makes me less worried. If you still want to party with me, though, I need to go register that I'm training with members of an outside guild so that they don't try and throw me in with a bunch of Knights who _still_ think they know better than me."

"No worries. We'll just wait here in the courtyard and look for a good Field Dungeon to farm in while we wait." Ash replied.

"It's too bad that dragon's nest is on the other side of the Floor from where Kirito is." Silica lamented. "I wanted to see if it would be any friendlier after people stopped trying to kill it for its ore, especially since I have a dragon for a friend already…"

 _"I, too, would value the chance to commune with a fellow_ dovah _."_ Pina agreed.

 _"Okay, I think I got that one. 'Dovah' means dragon, right?"_ Pikachu said.

 _"It is what we call ourselves in the ancient language of our people, yes. Many do not speak it any longer, but for_ dovahhe _of my kind it always remains a part of us."_

 _"Hmm. I guess the ones I knew must have been a different kind of Dragon, then, 'cause none of them spoke like that."_

 _"Yes, I recall you mentioning your old companion Gible."_

Asuna came back outside, readjusting her rapier on her belt. "Have you guys found a suitable dungeon yet?"

"Sorry, no." Serena informed her. "We kind of got sidetracked by a discussion about different kinds of dragons and their languages. This one looks pretty good, though."

"Yep, that one should work. The monsters there aren't any stronger than the Frost Bones over near Xyrphan's lair, but the drops they give aren't bad for their level. And it's close enough that in an emergency we shouldn't be any more than seven minutes away, even if we're all the way in the back of the dungeon."

"Great! I just hope nothing does happen to Kirito and it turns out we were all worried over nothing…"

* * *

Meanwhile, Kirito was having mixed feelings about his mission. He was looking forward to the opportunity to fight again, and the Ring that Silica had lent him ensured that he had a foolproof way to call for backup, but multiple factors made him not quite as sure as he would have liked about the outcome. For one thing, Godfrey was very much a defensively-oriented player, which meant escaping without the use of Crystals would take much longer – plus, he couldn't just speed-run the Labyrinth. Even the trip to the Labyrinth's canyon entrance, which would have only taken ten to fifteen minutes at a jog, was going to have taken a full thirty by the time the group arrived.

The third member of the group was the other problem. Godfrey had claimed that the evaluation was also a 'team-building exercise' during which he and Kuradeel could learn to work together despite their differences, and Asuna's former bodyguard was at least claiming to regret his former behavior.

Kirito was, understandably, somewhat skeptical of this claim. Though the grey-haired knight's apology sounded sincere, he had kept his face hidden as he apologized. This action could have been due to legitimate remorse, but it also could have meant that Kuradeel was hiding something – with the Cardinal System directly interpreting brain data, emotions were much harder, if not impossible, to fake than in reality. In order to do so, you would almost have to be able to control your mind directly (which was, coincidentally, why Klein and Silica were so convinced by Ash and Serena's performance).

If he had to be honest, he actually sort of wished that his two former protégés had been there with him. They seemed to be able to subconsciously pick up on people's moods and intents, which was what had initially led him to the now discarded mind-reading hypothesis. No, if anything it had to be some sort of natural sixth sense the two of them had, like a more versatile form of his own Hypersense Outside-System Skill that was able to detect more than just killing intent.

 _Actually,_ he mused, _that'd go a long way towards explaining their heightened situational awareness during fights – if they don't have to isolate themselves from their other sensory input like I usually do, that would give them an advantage they didn't even know they had!_

He was still considering the implications of his new hypothesis when Godfrey called for a short break just inside the canyon. He absently accepted the rations he was tossed, taking a small bite of the hard roll.

He had just taken a small swig of the water when he heard Godfrey yell in a panic. "Kuradeel? What did you do!?" A glance over at the other members revealed Godfrey keeling over while Kuradeel sat, food pouch untouched, with an anticipatory grin on his face.

His gaze immediately shot up to his HUD, and he threw the bottle away as fast as he could when he recognized the icon there. _Paralysis poision? Then Kuradeel was lying!_ "Quick, use an Antidote Crystal!" he yelled, struggling to move anything more than his left arm.

Kuradeel kicked Godfrey's hand away from his Crystal pouch, taking all the Crystals and stuffing them in his own. "Sorry, but I can't let you do that. PoH would kill me if I wasted Johnny's poison like that without being able to take proper revenge…"

 _He's working with Laughing Coffin?_ Kirito thought. _That explains how just a sip was able to Paralyze everything but my arm…_ He glanced down at said arm, only to see Silica's Ring on his finger. _That's it!_

"Whisper: Asuna." he instructed, covering his mouth with his hand as if trying to stifle a gag and manipulating his facial expressions accordingly. "Kuradeel working with rogue Coffins for revenge. Currently Paralyzed at Labyrinth entrance, need backup. Whisper, end." _I just hope she gets here in time…_

* * *

As luck would have it, the four in Asuna's group _were_ at the very back of the dungeon when his message came in. She explained the situation to them briefly before rushing off as quickly as she could. The three Brigadiers ran after her, but Asuna's speed outstripped them all.

 _"I just hope Kuradeel's the kind of bad guy who monologues before taking his revenge…"_ Pikachu said from Ash's shoulder. _"Otherwise, seven minutes may not be fast enough."_

Serena looked at Ash worriedly. _You think I should try it? I don't think she'll notice since she's so focused on just getting there as fast as she can…_

 _It's worth a shot. And I'd rather reveal our secret than let Kirito die,_ he answered.

 _All right, then – here goes._ Centering her mind, she ran through the mental checklist for Teleportation.

Destination: As Asuna had passed along the information, her mind had been charting the path to Kirito's location, displaying the journey in her head. Thanks to Asuna, Serena had a clear picture of the final destination of the Teleport. (Crystals performed this task automatically, since the Cardinal System had all standard teleport locations mapped out.)

Deliberation: Thanks to her and Ash's practice holding separate physical and mental conversations simultaneously, she was able to focus her mind on the image of Asuna outside the Floor Labyrinth and hold it steadily while her body went through the motions of running. (For a computer? No problem – just route the code through an idle processor.)

Determination: As a group, the four of them had plenty of willpower in this situation. As Asuna pulled further ahead, Serena channeled as much of the rapier user's resolve as she could into the attempt, backing it up with the Brigadiers' own. Without it, the Teleportation attempt would simply fizzle out fruitlessly. (The code of the Crystals and Gates, since they were part of an implacable computer system, had all the impetus they would ever need to perform this task.)

Those three factors together, she had discovered, were what allowed for a successful in-game Teleportation – though she didn't know whether or not it would have worked without the Psychic-type energy Clemont's NERVEGEAR apparatus had allowed her to access. Now all that she could do was keep running and wait for confirmation that her attempt had succeeded.

Up in the corner of her HUD, a small System Notification icon flashed. If she had opened it, she would have seen a message that read [Abnormal Teleportation request received. System flag: Teleportation of Player with different ID. Awaiting administrator confirmation/rejection.]

* * *

Deep within the digital bowels of the Cardinal System, this flag caught the attention of one of the System's AIs. She quickly compared the System IDs of the two Players to her databanks, and was surprised (or the closest a computer can be, anyways) to find out that she recognized both. The one who had submitted the Teleportation Request was one of the two who had been flagged under Do Not Track several months ago, and the player being teleported was one of the two she had chosen for special observation since then.

This merited further investigation, and so MHCP-001 decided to take a look at the Player Data and Enemy Data for the attempted Teleport location. Her surprise doubled when she found the other Special Observation player under Paralysis nearby, along with a Red Player who was attacking a third.

Her databanks identified the emotions of both Players involved in the abnormal Teleport as Protectiveness, which suggested they were attempting to save the lives of the endangered Players. _Even if I can't help them the way I was programmed to, I can at least do this much,_ she decided, approving the request. _And maybe if I can manage to recover access to my avatar, I can watch them from closer up…_

* * *

Asuna raced through the dungeon, intent on saving Kirito and Godfrey. The scenery blended into a blur as she ran, and if somebody had asked her she wouldn't have been able to tell when the glowing blue of the dungeon walls changed into the reddish-brown of sandstone. As she came around the corner, the image she saw burned itself into her memory.

Kuradeel was standing over Kirito, sword dug deeply into his stomach. Red marks on his arms and legs indicated the places he had been stabbed before, and Kuradeel seemed to be relishing in his (mostly psychosomatic, thanks to Cardinal's programming) pain. "How does it feel to know you caused the death of poor, innocent Godfrey over there?" he taunted. "After all, there's no way I can let him live after this…"

Kirito was struggling to push Kuradeel's sword away, but the strength of the Paralysis was too much for him to fully overcome. By the time Asuna came within striking distance, his HP was within a few points of being fully depleted.

"GET AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND!" she roared, triggering a Sword Skill with a strong blowback effect and stabbing Kuradeel's chest plate. Kuradeel was thrown several feet away and collided with the canyon wall, knocking the wind out of him. With trembling hands, she pulled a Healing Crystal out of her belt pouch and triggered it over Kirito, restoring his HP to full. "You're alive…" she breathed out, hugging him tightly and nuzzling into his shoulder. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Kirito embraced her back, the weaker dose of Paralysis poison he had received finally starting to wear off. "No, you're not – you got here just in time. We really owe Silica for this one."

Several meters away, Kuradeel struggled to his feet, and Asuna pulled away with anger in her eyes. "Hold on a moment, would you?" She advanced on Kuradeel, rapier in hand, and the expression on her face left no doubt as to the outcome of the confrontation.

He tried making a few half-hearted excuses, but she had no inclination to listen. Her rapier flashed out over and over again, faster than even Kirito's eyes could track, and each strike whittled away a bit more of the traitorous Knight's HP. If Kirito had to give a name to her technique, he would say 'Death of a Thousand Cuts' seemed appropriate.

As his HP fell into the red zone, Kuradeel tried one last gambit. "Wait, please – I don't want to die!" he pleaded, falling to his knees. "Could you really live with another person's blood on your hands?"

His question was enough to snap her out of her rampage, and he took advantage of the half-second of hesitation that resulted to knock her sword away with a malicious grin on his face. "Hahaha, the oldest trick in the book and you fell for it!" he crowed, swinging his sword down with an Avalanche strike.

Almost instantly, Kirito's forearm was there to intercept the attack. "I'm sure she could, considering the kind of person you are." he said in a low voice as his remaining hand glowed with the orange light of Embracer and buried itself in Kuradeel's stomach. "But I already am, and I'll gladly take on the responsibility again if it means she doesn't have to. I'm perfectly willing to be called a 'dark knight' so that Asuna can remain an unstained White Knight of Granzam City."

Kuradeel shattered into polygons just as the Brigade came racing around the corner. _"I feel as if I just missed the chance to see a great movie reference."_ Pikachu lamented. _"So what happened to that two-faced traitor Kuradeel?"_

Godfrey pushed himself to his feet, Paralysis finally worn off. "Soldiers, atten-TION!" he yelled, drawing the gazes of everyone present. "Vice-commander Asuna, thank you for your assistance. Kirito, I'm assuming you were the one who contacted her?" At Kirito's nod, he continued. "Then I thank you as well. However, the fact remains that your assaults of a fellow guild member were against regulations. While I agree that your actions were not unjustified, I still cannot condone them."

"Is he seriously putting them in trouble for attacking the bad guy and saving each other's lives?" Silica asked, worried.

 _"Nope. I recognize this, too."_ Pikachu replied. _"The officer can't openly agree with rule-breaking and so assigns a penalty that isn't really a penalty. That way he can follow the rules but still let them off relatively lightly."_

Godfrey's next words followed Pikachu's prediction exactly. "That is why, effective immediately, the two of you are suspended from combat duty until further notice. If I hear reports of you two anywhere near the front lines before your sentence is lifted, I will be having _words_ with the Commander about his second-in-command abusing her authority."

Kirito nodded gratefully from where he and Asuna were sitting, tears running down her cheeks. "Understood, sir. I don't think there'll be any danger of that, though."

"Come on, let's give the two of them some privacy." Serena said, sensing the snog-fest brewing between the two. "We'll escort you back to the HQ."

Godfrey grunted in agreement. "I appreciate it, ma'am. Asuna has spoken quite highly of you three, so I believe an escort mission is well within your capabilities."

"Hold on a minute." Ash said as they exited the canyon. "If you trust what Asuna said about us, why did you insist on 'evaluating' Kirito?"

Godfrey sighed. "That was my fault. I put too much trust in Kuradeel's reform, so I decided to play 'rules lawyer' to try and help the two of them work out their differences. I didn't think it would backfire that badly, though. And to think that Kuradeel was working with Laughing Coffin…"

 _Wait a moment – that explains who the guy with the reddish Aura was the day Kirito dueled him!_ Ash realized. _That must have been one of the members who escaped! He probably wanted revenge on Kirito and decided Kuradeel would be willing to help him…_

 _"I recognize that look."_ Pikachu said. _"You normally get it right before you invite somebody to travel with us."_

"That's not what I'm doing this time." he reassured Pikachu. "Hey, Godfrey – since your guild has three fewer people now, would you mind if we sort of unofficially filled in until they get back? Working with a bigger group might help keep us safer, too."

Silica perked up at the suggestion. "Ooh, and that means we'd be staying on the same floor as the dragon I wanted to visit! Can we, please?"

Godfrey stroked his beard thoughtfully. "An alliance between the Knights and the Beast Brigade, eh? I'll have to talk to the Commander about that, but I don't think that should be a problem. It might not make as big a splash as the 'Dual Wielding Demon' joining, but it'll be good for our PR too.

"Tell you what, I'll let you know in the morning, okay?" he decided. "For now, I just need to focus on my report."

Serena curtsied, quite adorably in Ash's opinion. A slight flush came to her cheeks as she sensed his thoughts, but it only served to make her look slightly more like a noble lady of the court as she answered Godfrey. "That's all we are asking for, sir."

Godfrey chuckled in response as he left the group and headed through the HQ gate. "Then fare thee well, milady, and safe travels until the morrow!"

Ash turned to Serena. "Well then, shall we depart _milady_?" he asked teasingly, putting all the affection he had concealed from his voice into their mental communication.

"Verily, I believe we shall." she answered in the same sing-song tone, turning to walk to the local Teleport Gate.

"No, no, you're doing it all wrong!" Silica interrupted, taking the bait. "You're supposed to bend your arm like _this_ , and she's supposed to take your elbow like _that_ so you can escort her properly!" As she was talking, she grabbed hold of their arms and moved them into the positions she was indicating.

"But then where would you fit in?" Ash asked with a confused look on his face.

Silica scrunched up her face in thought before her eyes brightened. "I can be the lady-in-waiting who follows behind holding up the train of Serena's dress!"

"But she's wearing a tunic – and why would a dress have a train on it? I thought trains drove on train tracks, not on dresses…"

Silica threw up her hands in despair. "That's it, you're hopeless."

* * *

Omake: Further Adventures in Teleportation

* * *

After how close Kirito had come to dying (Asuna's thoughts had revealed his HP level when she arrived), Serena decided to find somewhere solitary and practice Teleporting until she could execute the technique instantaneously. Thankfully, Ash knew what she was planning and offered to go exploring with Silica, freeing up their guild's apartment for practice.

Since the apartment was empty, she also decided to give their other Pokémon a chance to stretch their legs at the same time. She was going to practice jumping between the two bedrooms, while they occupied the common room/kitchen area.

All was going well until Pancham got bored and wandered into one of the bedrooms. In his free time (of which he had a lot lately) he had been trying to combine Dark Pulse with Arm Thrust by infusing the Dark-type energy into his paws instead of releasing it, and the residual energy shielded him from being detected by Serena's Psychic-type abilities. Her back was turned to him when he entered the room, and the bed immediately drew his attention – it was perfect for practicing acrobatics!

Halfway through executing the Teleportation technique, Serena heard the bedframe squeak and turned sharply on her heel to see what was happening. Almost immediately, she felt a tug similar to Teleportation, but different at the same time. She felt like she was being squeezed through a thin straw as the world spun around her, and she heard a loud _pop_ as the other bedroom swirled into focus.

She wasn't alone, though – the old man from Omake #8 was in the room as well. Instinctively, she threw up mental shields, and the grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes dimmed slightly. "Do you know what you have just done, my dear?" he asked gently, looking disapprovingly over the tops of his half-moon spectacles. "You're lucky the Ministry didn't catch wind of this."

"What are you talking about?" she responded, confused. "And how did you get here?"

"That is a question best left for another time." he dismissed. "In response to your first question, you have violated the Statute of Abilities Drawn from Non-Categorical Crossovers. If you wish to continue using my universe's instant transportation mantra, please refrain from pairing it with your most recent method of execution in the future in any situations except omakes or other non-canon scenes. While we are willing to overlook the use of one portion at a time under the Fanfiction Reference/Shout-Out Act, I am afraid certain persons within the current administration would take exception to you mimicking the technique wholesale."

With a swirl of his own and a _pop_ of displaced air, the old man vanished – leaving Serena utterly dumbfounded.


	18. Chapter 17

**.**

 **Where a Kid Can Be a Kid/The Orphanage on Floor 1**

* * *

As it turned out, their request had come at a quite opportune time for Heathcliff. A woman named Sasha on Floor 1 had been petitioning the major frontline guilds for funds to keep the orphanage she had established running, since the Army was so underfunded that most of their gear was subpar, and his Public Relations lieutenant had been wracking his brains for days trying to figure out who they could spare. Kirito and Asuna, though they were currently suspended from the front lines, had also recently gone through a traumatic experience and needed the time to recover.

The Brigade's offer was just the miracle they needed: it boosted the KoB's own PR by demonstrating inter-guild cooperation and helping out needy children, one of Brigade's members was close to the age of the children in the orphanage itself, and the presence of their Familiars would serve to entertain the children, lifting their spirits and letting the adults perform their business in peace. (Plus, Heathcliff reasoned, it would keep the two oddly perceptive older players at a reasonable distance. They would be close enough that he could keep an eye on them, but not so close that they might figure out his secret prematurely. He _still_ wasn't quite sure how they had managed to trigger the Cardinal System into advancing the AI of their Familiars like they had, allowing them to bypass the intended limit of one per player – and the unknown had great potential for danger.)

In an effort to prevent them from seeing through his masquerade during their briefing, he decided to once again implement the Method Acting technique he had learned in theater classes back during his education. He was not Heathcliff the GM, alter-ego of brilliant designer Akihiko Kayaba; he was simply Heathcliff the player, desperate to hold his guild together and clear the game as more and more people accepted Aincrad as their lot in life and abandoned the fight. What kind of a person did Kayaba think he was anyways, trapping them in here like this?

But as much as the paladin hated to admit it, Kayaba wasn't a _complete_ egotistical jerk – if not for the Ethics Code, he was sure that many more harassments of a *different* nature would have occurred. As it was, any physical contact that could be considered "inappropriate" triggered a dialog box that allowed the victim to send their harasser to the nearest Jail Cell, and each additional violation extended the duration of their stay. (Each player had the option to tailor what sort of contact would trigger this warning, but most people just chose an all-or-nothing approach to the Code: either maximum restrictions or completely off.)

 _Hold on a moment, how do I know so many of the specifics?_ he wondered idly. As far as he could remember, he had never opened that specific sub-menu, and he didn't remember any of his subordinates discussing it in his presence.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door. "Sir, your 10:45 is here." an escort announced, poking his head into the office.

 _Ah, the Beast Brigade. I've heard plenty about them from Asuna, and their prowess during the Boss Fights has been admirable for such a small guild – now let's see if they have the skills necessary for this mission._ "Show them in," he instructed with a wave of his hand.

The players and their Familiars filed in, each greeting him in their own way. Serena and her Braixen curtsied, Fletchinder threw a salute (once again somehow staying aloft), Frogadier performed a traditional martial artist's fist-in-palm bow of introduction, Pikachu and Pina gave him a respectful nod, and Ash exchanged a firm handshake with him.

Silica just waved shyly, amazed to be meeting the man who managed to defeat _Kirito_ , one of the strongest swordsmen she knew!

"We were told you wanted to see us?" Ash said once they had all settled into their seats.

"Yes, I did." Heathcliff answered, steepling his fingers. "Godfrey informed me yesterday of your request, and I wanted to know: Why? Do you have some ulterior motive for doing this, especially considering how well you appear to be doing by yourselves?"

Ash looked him in the eyes, voice firm. "We just want to help keep people safe, and Serena and I felt like this was the best way to do that."

The sense of honesty emanating from him was almost palpable, prompting another question from Heathcliff. "And I suppose this intuition has served you well in the past?"

"If we hadn't listened to it and taken Pikachu's advice, Kirito might have died." Serena told him, her tone brooking no argument. "It also helped us find the clue that Kirito used to solve that Safe-Zone 'murder' mystery several months ago. And how do you think we managed to locate Familiars with intelligence almost at, if not at, the level of players?"

There were no tics of body language that indicated that she was lying, though Heathcliff suspected there was probably more to the Familiar story than she was telling at the time. (As a matter of fact, it was actually an honest question meant to gauge _his_ reaction instead of an answer to his, but he misinterpreted it as rhetorical.) It was enough to reassure him, though, and he nodded in approval. "You make an excellent argument. However, I will admit that I have reservations about sending people as young as Silica into the front lines of combat, no matter how experienced they are." _And I suppose Kayaba did too, considering the age limitations he announced for the game…_

Silica pouted slightly when he said that, but she couldn't deny that he had a point. After all, she had been one of those who ignored the age restrictions when the game was first released, and she had not been prepared at all to live in such a dangerous world. It was also hard to forget that you were still a child when your Familiar's name for you included the draconic term for 'child' and she called you by that name multiple times a day.

"Thankfully," the paladin continued, "I have recently been informed of a mission that would allow me to honor your request without violating those principles."

Pikachu said something in an exasperated tone and Heathcliff looked to Ash for translation, wondering how Kayaba had managed to make the Familiar AI so sophisticated.

"He said 'of _course_ you have'." Ash informed the commander. "He's under the impression that a lot of the coincidences in this game are 'contrived,' whatever that word means. Like the arena on Floor 75 opening just in time for your duel with Kirito."

Heathcliff chuckled. "I must say, that's a novel way of looking at the situation. But regardless, the opportunity is still there. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to act as ambassadors to an orphanage operating out of a small church on the first Floor. The director of this orphanage has taken upon herself the responsibility of watching over all the children too young to play the game properly, and she recently contacted our guild asking if we could donate any of the proceeds from the duel to her operation. What I need you to do is to go investigate conditions there so that our financial officer can determine an appropriate stipend – how much we donate per week, in other words."

He was disappointed when none of them appeared to get his movie reference, but chalked it up to them being too young. They probably wouldn't have seen any of other the movies he had while growing up either, especially ones like _Scanners_ or _Dr. Strangelove_. He couldn't afford to dwell on real life, though; clearing the game was what was most important at the moment. There was also another reason, but he couldn't for the life of himself remember what that reason was.

Meanwhile, the three Brigadiers had a short whispered conversation before turning back to Heathcliff. "All right, we'll do it."

The paladin smiled back. "Excellent. I shall await your reports."

* * *

After the two guild leaders added each other to their Friends Lists so that they could report in remotely, the Brigade departed for Floor 1.

When they arrived in the plaza of the Starting City, it was far more deserted than it had been five months earlier. In fact, the only occupant they could see was a man who seemed oddly fixated on the treetops. When they asked him why he was so concerned with the trees, he told them that he was waiting for some of the fruit they grew to fall so he could sell it to the NPCs for money.

Almost as soon as he mentioned it, one fell straight towards Ash's head. Pikachu used his shoulder as a springboard and caught it before it landed, executing a somersault and landing in front of the man with the fruit sitting on his extended palm. _"Order up,"_ he quipped. _"One gourmet meal, hold the fall damage."_

"So how much does it sell for?" Serena asked curiously. She could have read his mind to find out, but since the answer wasn't currently floating on the surface of his thoughts it would have been a massive invasion of privacy.

The man accepted the fruit from Pikachu excitedly. "Five Col – but don't tell anybody else, or they'll try and steal my income."

Silica looked incredulously at him. "You could get at least five or six times that if you went out to fight monsters, even if you just beat one of them!"

Based on his reaction, they might as well have come from another planet. "Fighting monsters? That's suicide! I barely make enough to pay the Army's taxes, much less pay for armor and a sword…"

Ash had an idea. "Would you like to earn some money by helping us with something?"

The man instantly snapped to attention. "Really?"

"Yeah, we're looking for an orphanage that we were told was in the city. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?"

He scrunched up his face in thought for a second. "I think I remember hearing about a group of kids living in a church near the east river. That sound right to you?"

"I think so, but even if it's not it won't hurt to check. How much Col do you think that information would be worth?"

The man's eyes lit up at the thought of having more money than he could remember having in a long time. "Thirty!" he blurted out, before verbally backspacing. "Wait, no – I don't want to take all your money. Would twenty-five leave you with enough to get by?"

Ash chuckled, transferring fifty Col into a pouch. "I think we'll manage just fine. Stay safe!"

The man accepted, too shocked to even look into the pouch. "Thank you so much! And watch out for the Tax Enforcement Squads as you look. They don't discriminate between players who live here and outsiders." He immediately retreated to the nearby Inn, presumably to keep them from finding out about and taking his newly acquired fortune.

 _"You know, I'd kind of like to see them try…"_ Pikachu commented, cheeks sparking lightly. _"Let's go find that orphanage!"_

It took some doing, since Kayaba had designed the Starting City with multiple church buildings (the most massive of which used to hold the Chamber of Resurrection, and was itself just a chapel for the Black Iron Palace that the Army was based out of), but they finally found the one that Pikachu, Pina, and Braixen agreed smelled the most of young people. The minds of the people inside also felt as if they were still growing rapidly and their Auras did not feel quite as 'ripe,' but since Ash and Serena were still keeping those abilities secret they didn't say anything.

"Is anybody here?" Serena called out, pushing the central door open. "We were told to look for Sasha to ask her about the orphanage."

"Who is it?" a feminine voice asked through the crack of a door on the right. "You're not more Army enforcers, are you?"

"No, we're here representing the Knights on Floor 55." Ash reassured her. "Heathcliff even told us not to wear armor so that we wouldn't give the wrong impression."

The door opened further, and Sasha came out slowly, holding a sheathed dagger. "You said Heathcliff and the KoB? They actually listened to my message?"

Serena nodded, causing relief to show in the dark-haired woman's eyes. "Yep. They actually sent us down here to talk to you so that they didn't have to worry about Silica here being on the front lines."

Sasha nodded, pushing her thick-rimmed glasses back up her nose. "I completely understand. She's not that much older than the oldest children I have staying here, maybe even younger."

 _"Be that as it may, Silica-_ kiir _is still a_ kendov mul _and I trust her with my life._ " Pina interjected, and the woman finally noticed that the visiting players were outnumbered by monsters with greyed-out cursors.

Before she could say anything else, a young voice burst out from the door she had just exited. "Aw, cool – you have a pet dragon?" A boy with red hair soon followed, backed by a swarm of other children (all approximately twelve to fourteen) from both adjoining rooms. They stood behind Sasha, clearly curious but afraid to approach.

"Didn't I tell you all to stay hidden?" the woman asked them, exasperated. "Geez, it's almost like I'm a schoolteacher again…"

Pikachu nudged Frogadier with his elbow. _"A schoolteacher, eh? Remember last time we encountered a group of kids like this, when you got creamed by a Sylveon?"_

 _"Don't remind me…_ " Frogadier groaned, flushing with embarrassment.

Braixen patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. _"Don't worry, I doubt that'll ever happen again. They say it's a lot easier to resist an Attract if you know you like someone else."_

By that time, the children's curiosity had overcome their nervousness and they surged forward to take a closer look at the Brigadiers' companions. Since Silica was closer to their age, they naturally gravitated towards her with their questions, allowing Ash and Serena to slip into one of the side rooms with Sasha.

"She's gotten along quite well, hasn't she?" Sasha asked, pouring a cup of tea for each of them.

"She sure has!" Ash said proudly. "When we first met her, she had managed to make her way up to Floor 35 by herself, and she would have gotten even farther if an orange guild hadn't targeted her for having tamed Pina. And she's only gotten stronger since then – she's even helped with a couple of Floor Bosses by now!"

Sasha sighed. "If only that were the norm and not the exception. But as it is, most of the kids here were hopelessly lost when I came across them. Some were even having panic attacks that could have eventually led to PTSD and impaired their ability to operate in society, so I decided to try and give them as normal a life as I could."

"What's PTSD?" Ash asked, curious.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." Sasha answered, looking sad. "My father suffered from it while I was growing up, so I've seen it firsthand and I know that it's not something I want these kids to have to deal with."

Serena locked gazes with her, blue eyes meeting green. "Well, I can tell you with 100% certainty that you succeeded. Call it a 'sixth sense' if you will, but I promise I'm not making this up."

Sasha sighed again, this time in relief. "I suppose that's good to hear. When the game started, most of them were only ten to twelve or so – still in their 'I'm at the center of the world' phase. And while some of the youngest still think that way, they've all had to grow up fast."

Ash nodded sympathetically. "I know exactly how that feels. When I was their age, I thought I was the greatest thing the world had ever seen, and I often acted like a spoiled brat because of it. It took life clobbering me over the head multiple times to get me past that stage, and something like SAO definitely counts towards that. How many kids are there, anyways?"

"Around twenty or so. A few of the oldest help keep our expenses down by fighting monsters in the fields right next to the City, though, so even if we sometimes go hungry, we never starve either."

The mention of expenses reminded Ash and Serena why they had initially come there. "Speaking of expenses, how much does it usually cost per week to keep this place running?"

Sasha thought for a few moments. "Well, the room itself is about 700 Col a week, and then food is usually anywhere from 300 to 600 depending on how 'generous' the Army is feeling that week. The problem is, if we start getting donations from a frontline guild, they'll probably try and 'tax' that income too."

Ash's eyes flashed. "Then I guess there's only one thing we can do. Once we get the details worked out with Heathcliff and the Knights, we're gonna help you guys get strong enough that they can't bully you like that anymore!"

* * *

When they informed Heathcliff of their decision, his response was somewhat disappointing. While the Knights were willing to provide a weekly donation of 500 Col (based on current equipment prices and projection-analysis of the current Clearing rate), they could not endorse Ash and Serena's proposal – as doing so would mean open opposition to the Army. Such action, the Council felt, would be inadvisable, especially after openly espousing inter-guild cooperation.

He did offhandedly mention the Knights' old base on Floor 39, claiming that a visit there might give them some perspective on whether or not they could handle the task by themselves. After all, they might have _forgotten_ by that point how hard it was for lower-leveled players to acquire _suitable weapons and armor_ to take on dangerous monsters.

On a completely unrelated note, when they decided to take his advice and visit the old KoB headquarters they found a Storage Room filled with old discarded equipment (which in real life would have been covered with dust). Even as old as they were, though, they were still superior to the items for sale in the Starting City, and each Brigadier 'borrowed' a set of gear for 'personal use.'

Said 'personal use' took the form of one-on-one instruction, each instructor personally using their set to train the older kids in the orphanage how to defend themselves properly. Which of the two actually wore the armor and/or held the sword was irrelevant. And whenever Army patrols came near the training grounds, the armor mysteriously vanished, leaving behind a group of young children begging for assistance from a group of outsiders whose descriptions never seemed to stick in the patrolmen's memories.

This continued for several days, during which Argo dropped by to return the Ring of Angel's Whisper to Silica. She also dropped the bombshell that Kirito and Asuna were now married in-game, though she wouldn't say where they were living. Ash's initial thought when he heard that was _really, that quickly?_ , but when he remembered that Bonnie went around proposing to complete strangers for her brother it didn't seem quite as weird as he first thought.

Argo also had a whispered conversation with Silica, whose replies seemed to dishearten both of them. They frequently stole glances in Ash and Serena's direction, and Ash had a hard time keeping a straight face when even _Argo_ fell for their charade. She seemed slightly more skeptical than Klein or Silica, though, making him wonder if he was playing up the clueless a bit too much. (Serena actually told him later that Argo regretted them not still being on Floor 75, since she couldn't directly observe them without abandoning frontline news.)

When Clemont called back at the end of the month, Bonnie's comments made it clear that she suspected something was up too. Of course, her argument was simply that "it's been long enough for them that something _has_ to have happened" with no proof to back it up, but the way Serena ignored the topic only fueled her conviction. Grace and Delia were more concerned with their efforts to help out at the orphanage, though their tones of voice both carried an air of 'I know you're hiding something, but I'm gonna let you be the one to bring it up.'

Delia closed out the conversation with her customary "don't forget to wear clean underwear," earning an embarrassed groan from Ash and laughter from everyone else. _You're never gonna let that one go, are you?_ he asked as the connection was terminated and time acceleration resumed.

 _Nope,_ his girlfriend replied cheerfully, cancelling the Notice-Me-Not on the alcove they had been sitting in. _I'm just glad I got past the stage where I was too afraid of making you hate me to tease you._

 _Yeah, well sometimes I wish you hadn't._ Ash groaned back melodramatically. He was about to add in a teasing jibe himself, but the presence of two familiar auras nearby derailed his train of thought. _Hold on a moment, is that Kirito and Asuna? And who's that with them?..._

A series of knocks resounded through the entrance hall, and they made their way downstairs just in time to see Sasha admitting their two friends and a little girl who looked like she could almost be the couple's eight-year-old daughter. Her Aura had a much more greenish tint to it than the players', though, and Ash wracked his brains to try and remember where he had seen that color before.

The answer was right on the tip of his tongue when Kirito and Asuna noticed the two of them. "Wait a minute – Ash? Serena? What are you two doing here?"

"We've been helping out here for the past week! And I thought all the kids in the game were staying here – where did she come from?"

Kirito chuckled, shifting his grip on the girl's legs so she wouldn't fall off his back, and she whooped in delight as he did so. "It's kind of a long story…"

* * *

Omake: Pikachu's Prediction Predilection

* * *

 _"And Part Three of the character development arc begins…"_ Pikachu announced in a low voice from his perch in the belfry. _"First he is reminded of his vulnerability, then of his mortality. Now comes the part where he remembers who he is, what he is capable of, and who he is fighting for, preparing him for the rock-bottom experience of Part Four that he magnificently overcomes in Part Five, defeating the deus ex machina that spelled his demise in Part One."_

 _"You forgot Part Three-point-One-Four."_ Frogadier snarked from the shadows. _"You know, when a massive food fight erupts and he gets hit in the face with a cream pie?"_

Pikachu shook his head. _"Close, but no. I just ignored it because it's a filler episode where the protagonist has fun relaxing but nothing plot-relevant happens. It's not even a setup chapter, either – if anything, it just pads out the adventure by an extra thirty minutes or so, and eight of those are usually commercials."_

 _"You do realize the thirty minutes they show on TV are just the highlights, right?"_ Frogadier pointed out.

 _"That just makes the filler even worse!"_ Pikachu complained, before taking a closer look at the little girl riding piggyback on Kirito. _"Checkbox number two: the kid they're looking after just happens to look exactly like she would if she was actually theirs, and they just happened to run across her in whatever remote place they were staying right after getting married. Coincidence? I think NOT!"_

He sat back down on the nearby stool, only to shoot up again and rub his bottom in pain. Sure enough, there was a tack sitting point-up on the stool right where the base of his tail had been. But instead of getting angry at the prank, he seemed oddly pleased.

 _"I knew you could do it!"_ he congratulated Frogadier. _"Welcome to the Brotherhood of Movie References!"_

 _"What? I was just trying to prank you – how is that a movie reference?"_

 _"It was the fact that you did it right after I said that line."_ Pikachu explained. _"I suppose you only qualify for the Unintentional References chapter…"_

Frogadier sighed. _"You seriously need professional help about this."_


	19. Chapter 18

**.**

 **Rescues and Revelations**

(Episodes 11-12)

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry about accidentally double-posting the last chapter when I first updated - apparently having the prologue listed as a "Prologue" and not as a "Chapter" shifted the numbers around by one and I had forgotten that it had done so. (Or maybe it was the fact that I posted a drabble in the F/SN crossover section based on a future omake...) Either way, here's the correct chapter.**

If Kirito had stuck to the bare essentials of how he and Asuna met Yui, his story wouldn't have been quite so long. For some odd reason, though, he considered it necessary to give them the entire backstory of why they were in the place they were when they met her. Apparently, to buy the cabin on Floor 22 they had to complete a quest based on a classic movie (where a tornado picked up the house and carried it to a completely different land) that Argo had been trapped in for two days because she neglected to bring along a vital NPC.

After completing the quest and getting married, which the two of them planned to ratify with a real-world engagement as soon as possible, they spent several days just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. During that time, Kirito heard a rumor from another player nearby about a 'ghost girl with no cursor' and decided to try and scare Asuna with it – but then it turned out that the rumor was true (except for the ghost part). The little girl, upon waking up, quickly wormed her way into Kirito and Asuna's hearts. She even started calling them her mommy and daddy, since she couldn't remember anything more than her name, and they couldn't find it in themselves to refuse. Oddly enough, she shared Kirito's enjoyment of spicy food, but that just made him feel even more like he was really her dad.

Since she didn't trigger any NPC harassment warnings when they first moved her, they had assumed she must have been a glitched-out player who had been separated from her original family, and so they decided to bring her down to the Town of Beginnings to see if they could trigger any latent memories. They were quite saddened by the prospect of losing her, though, and Serena could tell that they wouldn't be entirely disappointed if their search turned out to be fruitless.

As such, Sasha's answer both disappointed and relieved them: In the two years since the game had begun she had not encountered any children younger than ten, accompanied or otherwise. That meant the possibility was quite high that she had been traveling with her original family, and after they had disappeared or died latched on to the first parental figures she had seen, namely Kirito and Asuna. If that was the truth, it would explain why she had never been discovered by Sasha during her searches.

"But how did _you_ know where to find us?" the orphanage director asked curiously. "With a town so big, this place is easy to overlook."

"That's another funny thing." Kirito said in response. "Some guy in the plaza just came up and told us where you were, claiming that the last people to be looking for the orphanage had paid him twice what he asked for the information and so he felt like he owed it to someone else. Was that you three?"

His last question was directed to Serena, Ash, and Silica, who nodded mareepishly. "We were just trying to help him out in a way that wouldn't hurt his pride." Ash admitted. "But I guess if he's gotten into a routine he wouldn't really feel comfortable changing it up just because someone was inexplicably generous to him."

"Whoa there, what's with all those big words?" Kirito interrupted teasingly. "You swallow a dictionary or something?"

"Don't be silly, Daddy!" Yui interrupted from his lap. "He can't eat a disha… dicten… um, that thing, 'cause it's not food and you can't eat anything that's not food!"

Kirito ruffled her hair and smiled at her. "But Mommy says the spicy food we like isn't real food all the time – so how can we eat that?"

Yui seemed confused by that, but giggled when Asuna swatted him on the head. "Kirito, stop trying to confuse Yui!"

"Yeah! Go, Mommy!" she cheered, sticking her fist up in the air and accidentally clonking Kirito in the nose. "Oops, sorry Daddy."

Kirito smiled again despite the discomfort. "How can I stay mad at that face?" he asked rhetorically, before his grin grew predatory. "Especially if you're being tickled to death!"

Yui's shrieks of laughter echoed throughout the room, lifting the spirits of everyone there. But all of a sudden, they abruptly stopped when the redheaded kid burst through the door looking terrified.

"What's wrong?" Sasha asked, moving quickly to calm him down.

"Gin's group – the Army – boxed in…" he wheezed out. "Was waiting for Gin over near east shop – they almost got me, too."

She immediately stood to her feet, glasses flashing ominously. "I suppose this meeting will have to resume later. You three, with me. Let's go get the kids back."

"Would you mind if we tagged along?" Asuna asked. "Strength in numbers and all that, plus it'll give us a chance to show Yui more of the Town."

"Us, too!" the redhead piped up, having recovered his breath. "We can use that training you've been giving us to help!"

Unfortunately for him, one week of training does not a seasoned warrior make, and Kirito could tell that Sasha was trying to figure out a way to gently yet firmly break that to him. An idea flashed in his mind, and he handed Yui to Asuna, taking the boy gently by the shoulders. "We've actually left you guys with the most important task of all." he said, staring into the boy's eyes. "After all, with the six of us gone, who's gonna be here to guard the church? It wouldn't do much good if we got back just to find out that the Army had invaded in our absence, would it?"

"We'll even let Pikachu and the others act as your backup." Ash added, seeing where Kirito was going. Give them a sense of responsibility here, and they wouldn't put up a fight about trying to go on the mission. "We're trusting you with their safety, okay?"

The boy's eyes shone, and he stood up proudly. "Don't worry, we won't let you down!"

* * *

With five players of frontline caliber (all in civilian clothing so that there would be no guild-vs-guild politics brought into play), there was no doubt that the retrieval mission would be a success. Yui was wide-eyed throughout the entire adventure, enjoying the rush of adrenaline caused by the wind in her face as they ran and how awesome her Mommy looked when fighting.

But when the fight was over, Mommy didn't seem to be acting like Mommy any more. Instead of the happiness and love for Daddy that she usually showed, her actions looked like she was suffering from _shame anxiety self-disappointment_ , which reminded her of her own time spent alone in the darkness, causing her to start shivering. "No… no… I don't wanna be alone again!" she mumbled, burrowing her head deep into her Daddy's shoulder. "Everything there is dark, and so are everyone's hearts…" Her glassy eyes washed over Ash and Serena. "But there's two that I can't feel, and I'm even more scared about that…"

Almost instantly, her Mommy was there, wrapping her arms around both her and Daddy and helping keep the scary things away. She let out one final shriek of defiance before letting unconsciousness take her, trusting Mommy and Daddy to keep her safe.

"What do you think that was about?" Kirito asked breathlessly, trying to figure out the cause of her sudden panic attack.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Sasha answered, just as puzzled as the rest of the players there. "If you need to stay the night for Yui's sake, I'm sure some of the older kids would be willing to temporarily move back in with the younger ones so you could use their room."

"Thanks for the offer." Asuna replied. "I think we'll take you up on that, actually."

As they walked back to the orphanage, Serena ran back over Yui's words in her head. _What do you think she meant by 'two hearts that I can't feel?' And was she specifically looking at us when she said it, or did we just happen to be where she was looking?_

 _I don't know,_ Ash replied. _I mean, I know that we can sense other people's emotions – but that's just because we have abilities from a different world than them… Hold on a moment, do you think maybe that's it? Maybe she_ was _talking about us, and Clemont's custom-built hardware prevents whatever empathetic abilities she has from working on us! Or maybe that's what that program he blocked was supposed to be for…_

 _You mean like some sort of Character Perception Unique Skill or something like that? I thought those were supposed to be more combat-oriented, though._

 _Yours isn't,_ he pointed out.

 _But that's just because it's an adapted version of a Pokémon ability!_ she countered. _It wasn't even in the game in the first place._

 _Fair point. How about we sleep on it and see if we have any new ideas in the morning? After dinner, of course._

His stomach loudly agreed with his closing statement, and everyone who knew him well had a good laugh at his expense as they re-entered the church.

* * *

Before they had a chance to return to the topic the next morning, though, their breakfast was interrupted by a woman from the Army who had come in response to the squadron's defeat the day before. Neither Ash nor Serena could sense any hostility from her, and Sasha seemed to know her, so Kirito and Asuna decided to withhold judgment until they heard what she had to say.

According to her story, even after the Floor 25 Boss battle Kibaou had never lost his appetite for glory. Upon his Aincrad Liberation Squad's merge with the guild MMO Today, he had slowly started to replace key officials in the new Aincrad Liberation Force with his sympathizers in an attempt to drive Thinker (the former leader of MTD) out of power. As Thinker became more and more of a figurehead, the Army (as people had begun to call it) became more tyrannical, and by about a month or two ago they had essentially turned into Kibaou's enforcement squad.

The assault on the Gleam Eyes by Corvatz and his men had been a desperate gamble to convince the populace that they were, in fact, working towards the betterment of the people, but after the near disaster Kibaou had denounced Corvatz as a dissenter who had pointlessly risked the lives of his own men by ignoring guild policy. The trial had been conducted by a kangaroo court of Kibaou's men, and Corvatz was sent to prison so that any attempts he made to defend himself would be seen as the self-justification of a criminal.

The cactus-haired glory hound had made his final strike against Thinker three days ago, using a Corridor Crystal to trap him at the bottom of a dungeon located beneath their HQ without any weapons or armor under the pretense of an unarmed meeting. The dungeon itself blocked access to guild storage and Private Messaging, and Kirito and Asuna were the first players strong enough to fight their way through that she had heard news of. As Thinker's assistant (and, based on what Serena could sense, in the beginning stages of a somewhat closer relationship), she had taken the responsibility for his rescue upon herself.

Kirito and Asuna, not being privy to her feelings and emotions, were somewhat more skeptical of her claims. "We'd like to believe you, but we have a little too much experience with almost dying after getting lured out into traps." Kirito answered, squeezing Asuna's hand for reassurance as he remembered the incident with Kuradeel. "In fact, if not for those guys' intuition I probably _would_ be dead by now." He indicated the Brigadiers with a nod of his head.

"Speaking of intuition, what do you guys think about this?" Asuna asked them curiously.

"Don't worry, Mommy – she's telling the truth!" Yui announced, clambering out of her chair and into Asuna's lap.

Serena nodded in confirmation, Ash having caught sight of a flash of code traveling from Yui to Yulier and back again just before the girl spoke. "Yui's right. Based on what she said yesterday, we think she might have some kind of Character Perception skill that lets her know how people around her are feeling."

"Hmm… Based on what I know about the NerveGear, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth." Kirito mused. "I wonder why her Menu didn't have a Skills sub-section, though…"

Ash pushed his chair back and stood to his feet. "We can worry about the specifics of how it works later. Right now, we've got a person to save!"

* * *

As it turned out, the monsters in the dungeon were of a low enough level that Kirito was able to plow through them single-handedly… or at least it would have been single-handedly if he had only been using one sword. As it was, he more resembled a spinning buzz saw than a human, blades whirling and slicing through enemies at incredible speed thanks to the restlessness a week without combat had built up in him.

If there had been more time, they would have likely taken the opportunity to help Yuriel level up – but as it was, clearing speed was of the essence. Yui's exuberance helped keep the atmosphere from feeling too grim, and Asuna was glad the girl had insisted on coming along. With as weak as the monsters were, nothing could really get through to hurt her, and her optimism was infectious. At one point Yulier even laughed, a smile breaking through her worried expression and making Yui even more ecstatic.

The two hours their journey took seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, and even the transition from aquatic monsters on the upper floors to more spectral/phantasmal monsters below was almost like an afterthought. All of a sudden, Pikachu sniffed and his ears perked up. _"I smell another player up ahead!"_ he announced, pointing up the corridor to where a soft blue-white glow was illuminating the walls.

"That must be the Safe Zone." Asuna observed, looking to Kirito for confirmation.

"Yep. And my Searching skill only shows him in the vicinity – that must be Thinker."

"Thank goodness!" Yuriel breathed out in relief before dashing around the corner, calling Thinker's name. The others followed at a slightly slower pace, having picked up on her desire to have a few seconds of privacy when they reunited.

 _"And disaster strikes in three… two… one."_

True to Pikachu's prediction, Yulier's frantic dash triggered a proximity flag in the corridor, and a bright yellow cursor heralded the generation of a Special Encounter boss in the intersecting corridor just before the Safe Zone. Neither Ash nor Serena had sensed it, since it literally did not exist unless someone was within its territory, but now that it did their danger senses were screaming like there was no tomorrow. And unless someone did something, Ash realized, there might _not_ be a tomorrow for Yulier.

Almost as soon as Ash had realized that, Kirito had activated his Sprint skill and all but disappeared, reappearing with his arm around Yulier some distance down the passageway. He dug his sword into the floor to act as a brake, and Serena mentally _pulled_ on them to help slow them down further. They stopped just short of the passageway, and the Fatal Scythe that had spawned in the side passage barreled through almost too fast to see. If they hadn't stopped in time, the force of impact alone might have killed them.

Kirito and Asuna almost immediately dashed into the passage that the Boss had disappeared into. "Take Yui and get to the Safe Zone!" Asuna ordered, her tone brooking no argument. "If we don't think we can beat it, we'll catch up with you."

Ash dithered for a second, worried about the speed the Boss had displayed earlier. Of course, given how fast Kirito had moved earlier, they might still be quick enough to escape. "Fine, but we're not Teleporting away unless you two are in the Safe Zone with us." he conceded. "We're not gonna let you die on Yui."

"Fair enough. Now go!" Asuna dashed after Kirito, the sharply defined line of shadows immediately swallowing her up.

As the four of them approached the brightly-lit room, Yulier and Thinker Teleported out to prevent overcrowding, revealing a small boxy pedestal in the center of the room. The sight of the pedestal seemed to trigger a reaction in Yui, and she reached out to touch it as if in a trance. As soon as she touched it, her Aura's color became much greener for a few seconds. "I… I remember everything…" she breathed, before stiffening up and looking at Serena. "Wait a moment – you were the one who sent that request to Teleport Mommy to help get Daddy out of danger!"

Serena blinked. "Wait, how do you know about that?"

"I'm the one who approved it, silly! Teleporting another person requires Level 1 Administrator privileges. Not just everyone can do it…" She turned to Ash. "Can you do anything like that? If you can, we just might be able to beat that thing and save Mommy and Daddy!"

Ash decided to just roll with the weirdness that was going on, since it meant he could help someone who needed it. "We were kind of trying to keep it a secret, but since you already seem to know about it, yeah." he answered, generating an Aura Sphere in his hand. "Why, does that monster have some kind of special weak point or something?"

Yui shook her head. "Kayaba designed it to protect that GM console there, so its stats are way higher than players are supposed to be able to beat. But when I analyze its data, it appears that all its attack rely on the scythe it carries."

Ash clenched his fist. "So if we manage to destroy its weapon, the Boss will be pretty much helpless! And thanks to Kirito, I think I know how. I just need it to stay in one place for long enough…"

"Leave that to me!" Yui announced, dashing out of the Safe Zone just as Kirito and Asuna were thrown across the corridor with their HP in the yellow.

Asuna saw her running towards them, and it triggered a rush of fear mixed with anger. "Yui, no!" she yelled as the Boss's scythe swung inexorably downwards toward the girl. If a single hit had reduced her and Kirito to yellow HP, there was no telling what it would do to someone like Yui.

And she was right – but for the wrong reasons. Just before the scythe hit, it encountered a hexagonal window denoting Yui as an Immortal Object. The Fatal Scythe was now in full view of Serena, who took hold of it with her strongest mental grip and focused on holding it in place.

What passed for its eyes widened in surprise when its strike was blocked, and it almost seemed worried when it was unable to retract its weapon. Ash immediately dashed forward, focusing his Aura Perception on the scythe. A crystalline matrix of polygons formed the cylindrical handle, and another complex web made up the blade. The weak point, where the most polygons met, was at the joining of the two, and Ash slammed an Aura-infused fist into that intersection, flooding the scythe with foreign energy.

That stress, combined with its continued attempts to move its weapon either forward against Yui's shield or backwards against Serena's Psychic hold, caused the Boss's weapon to fragment before dissolving away completely. True to Yui's prediction, the Fatal Scythe was helpless without its signature weapon, and its glowing red irises shrunk to frightened pinpricks when it recognized its predicament.

Pina quickly restored Kirito and Asuna's HP to the 75% mark, and (with some hesitancy on the part of said couple) the ten Players and Familiars went to town on the room's guardian. Even though it could no longer hurt them, though, its HP was still high enough that it took half an hour of continuous attacks to bring it down. When it finally died, each of the players leveled up about four or five times – which, considering their level, meant they had received _massive_ XP rewards. Yui, of all people, received the Last Attack Bonus: a cloak made of silvery cloth that gave an obscenely high bonus to Hiding. Even by Floor 100, the bonus would probably still be massive, and when she put it on only Ash and Serena's Outside-System sensing skills could detect her.

That little demonstration reminded Kirito, Asuna, and Silica what they had just seen. "Okay, spill it." Kirito demanded. "What was that just now?"

As Ash and Serena struggled to figure out where to start, Pikachu piped up. _"Déjà vu much, Kirito?"_

That gave Ash an idea. "Okay, you know how you were saying that Pina and the others had a remarkably lifelike AI, right?"

Kirito nodded, not sure where he was going with the question.

"Well, the thing is… it's not AI. Except _maybe_ Pina, and even then we're not quite sure."

Silica didn't believe it. "Hold on, are you saying there's a _person_ controlling each of them?"

Serena shook her head. "No, this is what they look like in real life too. We call them Pokémon, and where we come from they live all over the place. They're just as smart as people in most cases, sometimes even smarter, and we've been partners with them since before the game began."

Kirito was still skeptical. "Then how did you get them in here? Did you buy a NerveGear for each of them or something?"

"Nope." Ash answered. "Thanks to some sort of science thing that I don't understand, they can live inside digital storage containers called Pokéballs and be transferred from place to place via the Pokémon Center computer network. An inventor friend of ours was working on a way to let Trainers join their Pokémon inside the computer, it accidentally stuck us in here, and we've been keeping it a secret ever since."

"Is that why I can't access your mental health data?" Yui asked curiously, putting her Cloak back in her inventory. "Every time I try it gives me an error message with a weird symbol next to it. It looks like a red-and-white ball with a white dot in the middle."

"Probably." Ash admitted. "Clemont saw some kind of program trying to access our data, and he managed to block it with a firewall. What was up with that, by the way?"

Yui sat down in Asuna's lap, looking sad. "That was actually me. Mental Health Counseling Program 001, code name: YUI. I was designed to allow the Cardinal System to operate autonomously, sensing when players' mental states were below certain parameters and applying data from a psychiatric database in order to resolve their problems."

Ash was confused. "Wait, you're saying you're an AI? I thought AIs could only lose memories if they were deleted, so why couldn't you remember anything when Kirito and Asuna first met you?"

"Back when the game first began, I was given a command with the highest possible authority flag to refrain from contacting players. I believe this was to prevent me from overtaxing my RAM when the number of players in improper mental states increased so rapidly, but it still caused my programming to break down just the same." Asuna suspected a slightly less altruistic motive for the order, but she kept her mouth shut and her arms around Yui. "I had not been ordered to stop monitoring the players, though, and so the two halves of my programming conflicted with one another. Each time I observed a player feeling fear, despair, or rage, my core processes instructed me to help – but the Command denied me the authority to do so. Each time, it generated another error, and eventually my programming fractured beyond my own ability to repair."

"Then came February 24th of this year. After an indeterminate time rendered inoperational, my self-repair processes detected the activation of an AI-restoration program and attempted to piggyback off the operation. This attempt was only partially successful. While my original programming was restored to full functionality, it was no longer the core – instead, my program reformed around a self-learning kernel that drew on my stored experiences to create a sense of self. This enabled me to circumvent the Command in small ways, such as approving your abnormal Teleportation request, and it is also when I began to identify myself as 'Yui' and not YUI-MHCP001."

Kirito was awestruck. "The evolution of a self-aware AI… I didn't think that was possible for another five years, at least!"

Ash chuckled sheepishly. "I think that one may have been kind of our fault. The same kind of thing happened to Pina when we brought her back, and I'm pretty sure that was in late February, too."

Kirito shook his head. "Coming from another dimension and accidentally triggering two simultaneous AI evolutions… If it was anyone else, I'd say you were crazy. But considering that it's you two, it doesn't really surprise me nearly as much as I thought it would. So Yui, what happened next, and why did you lose your memory?"

"For a few months after I was restored, I decided to develop my personality by observing players with positive mental parameters, and those two especially caught my attention." She pointed to Ash and Serena, triggering a chuckled _of course those two would catch your attention_ from her Daddy. "Unfortunately, shortly after I began the firewall I mentioned earlier appeared, and I registered its signature on my Do Not Track list to prevent myself from accruing errors again. The next pair of players I chose was Mommy and Daddy, and the more I watched them, the more I wanted to watch them from as close as possible. Access to my avatar had been severed by the Command, though, which made direct interaction impossible.

"That was when she sent in the Teleport request, which made me think – if one player could move another person's avatar with Level 1 Authority, why couldn't I create myself an entirely new avatar with my Level 2 authority? I decided to model its appearance off the two of you to decrease discomfort, but I was unable to give it a very large initial memory bank without attracting the attention of the Cardinal System. So instead of transferring my entire self, I only moved my core personality into the avatar I had on your floor, leaving my memories behind. A subroutine I established increased the size of my avatar's memory bank by absorbing the RAM of any monsters defeated nearby, and when I touched the GM console over there my memories were restored."

"But then what about the Command you were talking about?" Kirito asked, confused. "If that was a part of you, then how come you can interact with us now?"

Yui giggled. "I left just enough of my old programming there that it doesn't realize I'm gone. That means I can stay with Mommy and Daddy forever now!"

 _"I am sorry, Yui-_ briinah _, but that is not the case."_ Pina said gravely. _"When this game is cleared, Aincrad's purpose shall have been fulfilled – and I believe this shall result in its destruction. While my fellow_ sunvaar _may have their futures assured by their existence without, those of us whose only dwelling is within are then destined to perish. I have come to terms with this truth, and you must as well."_

"You know…" Ash thought out loud. "That might not be the case. Yui, you said you can create game objects, right?" When she nodded, he materialized an empty Pokéball. "Do you think you could copy the programming used to adapt these into the game so that your data can be saved on the helmets themselves? That way, even if the main server deletes itself you won't have to be deleted with it!"

Kirito exchanged a glance with Asuna, who nodded. "If it means we don't have to lose Yui, it's worth a shot." Silica agreed, hugging Pina tightly.

They moved into the Safe Zone, and Yui placed one hand on the console and the other on the Pokéball. The greenish-blue of her Aura temporarily shifted to a more solid green as the AI portion took command, and two items began to construct themselves on the surface of the console. One was a standard Pokéball, but the other was a necklace with a small, teardrop-shaped gem. When they finished, Yui picked up the necklace and handed it to Asuna.

"Here you go, Mommy!" she announced proudly. "Now you don't have to worry about leaving me behind when you go to battle – I'll always be there, right next to your heart!"

Asuna's eyes teared up, and she hugged her adoptive daughter tightly. "Thank you very much, sweetheart."

Yui smiled back, tears of happiness in her own eyes, as Kirito added himself to the embrace. "I love you, Mommy. And I love you too, Daddy."

* * *

Omake: Evolution of a Different Kind

* * *

True to Yui's prediction, the Fatal Scythe was helpless without its signature weapon, and its glowing red irises shrunk to frightened pinpricks when it recognized its predicament. Its arms lashed out in fright, throwing Frogadier (who had been sneaking up behind it) against the corridor wall.

As he pushed himself back to his feet, Frogadier suddenly began glowing with a bright blue light. When it faded, he was now standing taller than Ash – and his fringe of Frubbles had been replaced by a long scarf-like tongue, confirming without a doubt that he had evolved into a Greninja.

But as Frogadier was evolving, Ash had instinctively stretched out with his Aura to ascertain his partner's condition, and some of that power had merged with the amphibious ninja's regular evolutionary aura. In an effort to balance out the conflicting energies, Greninja's new form shifted again, a cyclone of water forming around him and obscuring his appearance. Kirito wasn't sure whether or not he was hallucinating, but Greninja's face now appeared to resemble the hat and hairstyle Ash was wearing when they first met. (Come to think of it, where had he gotten that hat so early? He didn't think the NerveGear hardware gave you the option to wear a hat, and nobody had unlocked Tailoring by that point…)

His thoughts were put on hold when Ash, utilizing his practice communicating with Serena, opened an Aura Link with Greninja in order to try and figure out what was going on. As soon as they connected, the cyclone of water condensed itself into a massive shuriken on the altered Greninja's back that slightly resembled a pair of wings – and the ninja frog abruptly blurred out of sight, appearing again behind the Fatal Scythe and sheathing a blade coated in Dark energy as Ash mirrored his motions.

Greninja's Night Slash then triggered, causing a massive explosion to erupt around the ghostly skeleton. Thanks to the power boost from his recent evolution and the damage increase from his elemental Typing, this was enough to one-hit-KO the Fatal Scythe.

Kirito gaped. "What? But… but… that was a strong enough to be a Floor Boss for one of the top ten floors! How could…"

 _"It's called Deus ex Machina, kid."_ Pikachu quipped. _"Look it up, why don't you?"_

Meanwhile, Braixen was off in a corner plotting. _"I can't let him show me up like that! Let's see, how can I make my own evolution into Delphox more epic? Maybe I can make a humongous flower out of fire and then step out evolved as the petals unfold…"_


	20. Chapter 19

**.**

 **Five Fishing Frontliners**

(Ep 13 Part 1)

* * *

About four days after the incident in the Dungeon, the Brigade received an invitation from Kirito and Asuna to spend the day with them on the 22nd floor. After Kirito had invited an elderly fisherman named Nishida over for a taste of Asuna's special soy sauce, he had somehow gotten roped into an effort to catch the 'local fish king,' as Nishida called it, which was scheduled for the day after she sent the message. As soon as Nishida had left, Yui had immediately asked if the rest of her little pseudo-family could join them, "since Mr. Nishida is so excited he'll probably invite a bunch of his fishing friends too!"

The only stipulation was that Pina and the Pokémon would have to stay either in storage or at the cabin, since they were trying to avoid rumors about their location spreading and the Brigade's association with the two of them was common knowledge. Pikachu and Pina, who preferred to stay outside, agreed to stay in the cabin while the other three were recalled into their Inventory space. The three Trainers decided to dress in casual clothing too, which gave Ash and Serena a chance to finally wear their old outfits again.

Ash smiled nostalgically when he saw Serena's blue ribbon again. _Sorry for standing you up like that on our first date,_ he apologized, remembering how utterly Pokémon-focused he had been on that day.

 _It's okay,_ she reassured him, swiping his hat and mussing up his hair even more than it was already. _You were still as dense as a Rock-type back then, and I was still in that hypersensitive does-this-mean-something-or-not stage, so I can forgive the old you if you can forgive the old me._

Ash growled playfully and stole her hat in return, plopping it on his head and sticking his tongue out childishly. _Equivalent exchange – I'll give you your hat back if you give me mine._

The flash of a Recording Crystal interrupted them, and they turned to see Silica sneaking back into her room while snickering at the image.

 _Did she forget we know when she's watching?_ Ash asked, amused at how clever Silica thought she was.

 _Uh, no. We kinda forgot to mention our own abilities, what with the whole 'explaining Pokémon' and 'Yui is an AI' things. But I think that was close enough to the line between 'best friend' and 'boyfriend/girlfriend' behavior to keep her guessing. By the way, are you gonna keep wearing my hat all day?_

Ash sighed in mock exasperation. "Fine, you can have your hat back. But you still owe me for messing up my hair."

"Messed it up? If anything, it's an improvement!" she jibed, handing him back his own hat. "Here, take this so I don't have to look at it anymore."

Silica burst back through the door, now dressed in a sweater and knee-length skirt. "Alright, enough flirting, you two. Let's go visit Yui!"

"Wait, is 'flirting' another word for 'teasing'?" Ash asked as they followed her out the door. "Or is it just a special kind or something?

This time, it was Serena's turn to sigh at the hamminess of her boyfriend's performance. "Really, Ash? _Really_?"

* * *

When they arrived, Yui greeted them with massive hugs. "Silica! Uncle Satoshi! Aunt Serena! You're here!"

"And hello to you, you little unholy terror." Ash teased, ruffling her hair fondly. "Still refuse to call me by the name everybody else does, do you?"

"That's what Ms. Cardinal calls you, so that's what I'm calling you." Yui insisted, crossing her arms defiantly. "And stop messing up my hair – Mommy just brushed it for me!"

"Don't worry, I'll help you brush your hair again." Serena said, winking at Asuna. "After all, doesn't Mommy get today off so she can watch Daddy go fishing?"

Yui frowned. "I guess you're right…" she admitted, before perking up again. "But just wait for lunch – Mommy made the best sandwiches ever, and some of them are the spicy ones Daddy and I like to eat!"

"I'm sure they are." Serena chuckled in response, materializing a picnic basket of her own. "But when Ash is around, you can never make too much food."

Yui nodded solemnly in agreement. "Uncle Satoshi is like a delete bin for food. If you give him something, it's gone forever." Her voice then lowered to a whisper. "Unless you give him your heart, Aunt Serena – I can tell he'll keep it safe for you forever."

Serena was glad Ash had gone inside to drop off Pikachu, or else Yui and Silica might have ruined their entire charade. "See, even Yui agrees that you two are perfect for each other!"

"Be that as it may, today is for Kirito and Nishida." Asuna interrupted. "You two will be on your best behavior, understand?"

"Yes, Mommy." Yui answered sullenly as Ash and Kirito came outside. "C'mon, Daddy, let's go fishing!"

The walk to the lake was quite relaxing, even with Silica and Yui dashing off every so often to look more closely at some of the flowers that grew between the pine trees. Silica seemed to have taken it upon herself to teach Yui how to make flower crowns, and Yui was halting their durability loss as she picked them to keep them from disappearing.

When they finished, Yui ran up to her parents proudly to show them her creation. She started to hold it out to Asuna, but then changed her mind and handed it to Kirito. "Here you go, Daddy! Nobody would ever recognize you wearing this!"

Kirito chuckled, plopping the circlet on at a jaunty angle. "Thanks, honey. It's like I'm a completely different person now – wait a moment, who are you people?"

" _Daddy!_ " Yui groaned, punching him in the arm. "Stop pretending to have D.I.D. just because you put on a flower crown…"

"…What's D.I.D.?" Ash asked curiously.

"Dissociative Identity Disorder, otherwise known as Multiple Personality Disorder." she explained, drawing on her psychiatric database for information. "It's like two different people living in the same body, but only one of them has control at any time."

Serena hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's what was going on with Heathcliff when we met with him…" At Kirito and Asuna's curious glances, she explained. "When we were given the mission to investigate the orphanage, it almost felt as if there was another person underneath the surface of his mind – but I couldn't tell for sure without violating his privacy."

Yui nodded. "That's entirely possible. After two years, a lot of players have begun to identify more with their characters in-game than their lives beforehand, which could be considered a very mild case of D.I.D. Others may have used it as a coping mechanism back when the game began, and it will probably be much harder for them to adapt back to the real world once the game is cleared."

"As enlightening as this has been," Asuna interrupted, "we're getting close to the lake, and I'm not sure how Mr. Nishida would react to hear you talking like a computer. Remember, anything out of the ordinary could draw enough attention for people to recognize us."

"Okay, Mommy. I'll limit my language functions to appropriate levels now."

The lake came into view between the trees, revealing Nishida and about thirty other people of all ages. Several of them already appeared to be having a friendly fishing competition of some kind, and Nishida was officiating. The elderly man waved as they approached. "Great weather today, isn't it? Perfect for fishing!"

"Hi, Grunkle Nishida!" Yui called back. "We brought some friends too – this is Silica, Uncle Satoshi, and Aunt Serena!"

"Grunkle?" Serena whispered questioningly.

Kirito answered in a low voice. "It's short for great-uncle. He told her she could call him Grandpa if she wanted, but she thought great-uncle sounded better."

Nishida bowed. "Pleased to meet you three. Might I ask how you all know each other?"

"We met them on Floor 1 when we were looking for Yui's parents." Kirito explained, only telling what he thought Nishida needed to know. "Then when we decided to officially adopt her, she decided they were her new aunts and uncles. Except for Silica, who I think she considers more of a cousin."

"Ah, I see. Let me just introduce you to the rest of my guild, and then we can get started!"

* * *

As Nishida performed the introductions, Serena did her best to saturate Kirito and Asuna with a sensation of _perfectly normal no need to take a closer look_ to help keep people from recognizing them. It seemed to work well enough, and Nishida clapped his hands excitedly when they finished.

"All right, now that you all know each other, it's time for the main event! Behold – the bait."

One of his companions came forward, holding a long fishing rod with a massive lizard attached, one large enough to have its own HP bar. The forearm-sized lizard squirmed as Nishida took the rod, clearly not looking forward to whatever was coming.

"Whoa – if that's the bait, what they're trying to catch must be _huge!_ " Silica exclaimed, awestruck.

Nishida grinned. "Alright, here goes nothing!" He swung the rod as hard as he could, causing the lizard to fly through a wide arc before landing in the water.

 _I wonder if fishing takes as long in this game as it does in the real world,_ Ash thought as the ripples in the water subsided.

 _I don't know._ Serena replied, scanning beneath the surface of the water for signs of life. _But I think we're about to find out._

A massive form appeared underwater and began nipping and nudging at the bait, causing the rod in Nishida's hands to flex slightly. Kirito noticed the flexing and walked up behind Nishida. "Aren't you supposed to reel it in now?"

"Not quite yet." Ash informed him, thinking back to the various fishing lessons he had received over the years. "The first few tugs mean it's curious, but you'll scare it away if you pull too soon. I had a friend once who called himself a 'fishing connoisseur,' and he explained it to me about a year or so before the game started."

"It sounds like you would make a fine fisherman, my boy." Nishida complimented him, just before the rod jerked sharply. "All right, NOW!" He tugged on the rod, causing it to bend into an arc. "Okay Kirito – I've hooked the sucker, now it's your turn!"

"Oh, um… Switch?" Kirito said unsurely as Nishida handed him the rod. As soon as he gripped it, there was a monstrous tug on the other end, and only his massive level granted him a high enough Strength stat to stay on the dock.

"C'mon, you can do it Daddy!" Yui cheered. The tug-of-war he was involved in was so high-powered that the fishing rod almost bent in a perfect U-shape, and only the rod's high quality prevented it from breaking.

The massive form underneath the water quickly grew close enough that its silhouette was visible from the shore. "Look, I can see it!" Silica yelled excitedly, causing the onlookers to stampede to the water's edge for a closer view.

Suddenly, almost as quickly as they had advanced, they retreated; some silently, some screaming, and some with oddly British-sounding shouts of "Run away!" About two seconds later, the line went slack and Kirito fell over onto his bottom.

"What? No, I can't have lost it!" he griped, peering down into the water as Asuna screamed at him to look out. "Huh? Why do I need to –"

The dock erupted under him, throwing him back onto shore amongst a rain of wooden planks. A massive fish that was almost taller than Agil loomed above him, and when its eyes lit up red his fight-or-flight instinct chose flight.

"Huh, a giant Relicanth with six legs." Ash commented dryly as Kirito hid behind Asuna. "That's not something you see every day."

"Don't just stand there, do something!" Nishida shouted in a panic. "Your wife and kid are in danger!"

"Don't worry, I got this." Ash reassured him, jogging forwards to about halfway between them and the fish. Kneeling down, he tied two blades of grass together into a knot before returning to the group.

"Are you kidding? What's that supposed to do?" the elderly fisherman said, still terrified.

"Wait for it…"

The Fish King's lumbering steps triggered the Grass Knot he had set up, and its massive weight ensured that it was hit with full power. It tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop upside down, only a foot or two away from Asuna. Yui, meanwhile, had been rummaging around in the picnic basket and came back with a butter knife. "Come on, Mommy, make it a fish kebab!"

"Don't be silly, Yui." Asuna said, removing her outer tunic and equipping her rapier. "It's not a kebab without a proper skewer." Lambent Light flashed with the light of a Sword Skill, and she impaled the giant fish with a lightning-fast strike through its skull.

Nishida gaped. "But – but it was so big!"

"Yeah, but Mommy and Daddy are really strong!" Yui told him, patting his shoulder as he fell to his knees. "So is Uncle Satoshi. He even fights on the front lines sometimes!"

"You're… you're frontliners?"

Ash scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "We were kind of trying to keep it a secret, but yeah. We were on the first floor when we ran into the three of them because we had been doing volunteer work with the orphanage there."

Unfortunately, even that tidbit was enough for someone to connect the dots. "Wait, does that mean this is _that_ Asuna?" a person within the crowd asked, triggering recognition in the others.

"You're right – that _is_ the Lightning Flash!" another said, before his gaze flicked over to Kirito. "And Nishida said she was his wife, so… oh my gosh, that's the Black Swordsman Kirito she's married to, and they even have a kid!"

Serena unobtrusively made her way to Serena's ear. "Do you want us to get you away from here without them noticing?" she murmured quietly.

"If you wouldn't mind." Asuna replied, hoisting Yui up onto her hip. "We'll just eat lunch back at home."

"All right, then. Just give it about five seconds and then you should be able to walk away without them realizing it." She covered each of their group with a full-strength SEP field, and they began the trek back to the cabin.

* * *

It turned out to have been just in time, as Kirito, Asuna, and Silica each received a message from Heathcliff right after they left. [Disaster with Boss Recon party – I need every available frontliner allied with the Knights as soon as possible.]

Asuna winced. "If _he_ just called it a disaster, it must be serious. We should've expected something like this, though, since there's been a difficulty spike every 25 Floors so far. I guess that means our vacation will have to be cut short…"

"I wonder what happened." Serena said, concerned. "Yui, you said you could access player data, right? Can you tell us what happened?"

Yui shook her head. "Sorry. When I reformatted my data to be compatible with the local storage program in Mommy's necklace, it limited my database access to emotional/mental classification and local environments only. A risk/reward assessment that I ran indicated that staying with Mommy and Daddy after the game is cleared was worth the loss of data access."

Kirito smiled at her, though there was still some irritation with the game evident on his face. "And we're glad it did. I just wish we could've had more time to relax together, just the three of us as a family, before something like this happened."

 _"I have no doubt you do."_ Pikachu replied. _"But this has all the hallmarks of Stage Four, and there's no stopping the Plot once it gets moving. Even if you find some way to derail it, it keeps on going."_

Ash groaned. "Again with the TV logic – that's starting to get old by now!"

 _"Starting?"_ Frogadier scoffed. _"You're lucky you were never in Inventory Storage with us…"_

 _"Hey, I'm not THAT bad!"_ Pikachu protested, but to no avail.

"Don't worry, Daddy." Yui said, stroking Pina's headfeathers as the little dragon butted up against her hand. "Remember, I'll be with you and Mommy the whole time!"

"Thanks, Yui." Kirito sat up and heaved himself off the bed. "Well, let's go see what Heathcliff needs us for."

* * *

"Half the scouting team was wiped out?!" he asked in disbelief. "How?"

Heathcliff sighed, face grim. "That's what we don't know. Once those ten reached the middle of the Boss Room, the doors slammed shut and didn't open until about five minutes later. When they did, there was no sign of the players _or_ the Boss. My guess is, all Boss Rooms from this point on will be Anti-Crystal areas."

"Your message said 'every available frontliner' – does that mean you're trying to form a raid group?" Ash cut in.

Heathcliff nodded. "Unfortunately, some of our allied guilds need time to recall their players, which means we cannot depart today. Report to the plaza on Floor 75 at noon tomorrow; until then, use your time as you see fit. I would advise that you stock up on high-strength healing potions, though. If the Boss is strong enough to wipe out ten players in five minutes, recovery will no doubt be important."

"Got it." The five players walked out of the Council Room, leaving the Commander to continue contacting potential recruits.

* * *

Omake 1: Yui Becomes a Trainer

* * *

"Don't worry, I got this." Ash reassured Nishida, jogging forwards to about halfway between them and the fish. Kneeling down, he tied two blades of grass together into a knot before returning to the group.

"Are you kidding? What's that supposed to do?" the elderly fisherman said, still terrified.

"Wait for it…"

The Fish King's lumbering steps triggered the Grass Knot he had set up, and its massive weight ensured that it was hit with full power. It tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop upside down, only a foot or two away from Asuna. Yui, meanwhile, had hidden under her Cloak to mask the fact that she was attempting to generate an object.

It fell into her palms and she unequipped the Cloak, running forward to her Mommy's side. "Go, Pokéball!" she yelled, launching the aforementioned object at the Fish King's midsection.

The giant fish immediately transformed into a blob of red light, which then swirled into the now-open red and white sphere. It clicked shut and fell to the ground, wobbling back and forth as the light on its front blinked erratically.

The seconds seemed to drag out into minutes as the Fish King struggled to escape its confinement, and everybody stared at the Pokéball as it did. Some were staring out of disbelief and others out of anticipation, but it held everyone's attention regardless.

Finally, it stilled with a small burst of sparkles, and Yui ran forward and picked it up. "Look what I caught, Mommy! Can I keep him? Please?"

Ash chuckled at the thought of Yui riding around on the back of a giant walking fish. "Hey Yui, you wanna join our guild now?" he asked jokingly. "You'll fit right in!"

Nishida was still gaping. "But… how… what… where… why…"

Kirito shook his head in resignation, clapping the older man on the shoulder. "This kind of thing happens wherever Ash and Serena go, especially in omakes like this one – you've just gotta get used to it."

* * *

Omake 2: A Different Giant Fish

* * *

"What? No, I can't have lost it!" Kirito griped, peering down into the water as Asuna screamed at him to look out. "Huh? Why do I need to –"

The dock erupted under him, throwing him back onto shore amongst a rain of wooden planks. When he pushed himself into a sitting position, he was surprised to see a giant blue catfish-like creature laying in front of him and wearing what looked like a smirk on its face. The yellow W-shaped mark on its forehead matched the color of its whiskers and what he could see of its underbelly, and it appeared to be eying Ash with particular interest.

After a few seconds, it spat out a thin rectangular box emblazoned with a red Pokéball symbol at Ash. The Trainer automatically caught and opened it, only to see the first five Badges he had earned in Hoenn staring him in the face.

"Hold on a minute – _Nero?_ " he exclaimed in shock. "How did _you_ get here? And didn't I get my Badge case back from you already?"

 _"I heard somebody was trying to catch a giant fish."_ the Whiscash answered smugly, sticking out its tongue. _"And how could I pass up a chance to mess with your head again? Besides, who cares about continuity?"_ He coughed out a Master Ball and started balancing it on his nose, completely ignoring everybody else there.

"Wait, you _know_ him?" Kirito asked, confused.

Ash sighed. "Sadly, yes. He lived in the same lake for fifty years, and pretty much all he did during that time was troll a fisherman who lived there. Your best bet is to just ignore him back."

Nero's auditory membranes twitched at that statement. _"What? No – I'm nothing without my audience!"_

 _"_ _I guess you're nothing, then."_ Pikachu snarked, delivering a devastating Thunderbolt that managed to bypass Nero's Ground-type immunity by aiming for the horn. _"Don't be surprised."_ he added at Nero's dumbfounded look. _"You were the one who decided continuity didn't matter."_


	21. Chapter 20

**.**

 **Battling the Boss**

(Ep 13 Part 2, 14 Part 1)

* * *

 **A/N: Only one more chapter after this until the end of the story! Not sure when I'll be posting the sequel, though, since the end of next week is the beginning of university classes/move-ins and I want to be able to consistently update from the first chapter until the last...  
[img=kermit_ ] But that's none of your business, I guess. What you're here for is _this_ story - so here you go.**

The next morning, they made their way to the meeting point kitted out in their strongest gear. Since Kirito's Blackwyrm Coat had stats more appropriate to his fighting style than his guild uniform, he was once again the Black Swordsman – and the identity seemed to fit him much better than that of a White Knight.

When they had visited Lisbeth to have their equipment restored before the fight, the blacksmith was put out that she couldn't join them. She could fend for herself on the middle floors just fine, but her skill set just wasn't suited to all-out combat. Instead, she normally relied on other players and/or merchants to bring her higher-quality materials.

Speaking of merchants, Agil was one of the players waiting in the Teleport Plaza when they arrived. Klein and the Fuurinkazan were with him, and he waved as they approached. "Hey, guys! I know you three have been down helping with the orphanage on Floor 1, but where have you two been these past couple of weeks?" His gaze landed on Asuna's hand and he gasped. "No way – the rumors were true? I thought that guy was just making things up!"

Kirito chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, we were kind of keeping it on the down low to avoid paparazzi, and a bunch of visitors would have just drawn extra attention."

"Well then, congratulations you two." Agil said, shaking their hands. "It's too bad you had to cut your honeymoon short, though."

"Like you're one to talk." Kirito teased back. "Imagine the profits you're losing by closing your shop for the day!"

"Hmph. Imagine that." Agil stage-whispered to Klein. "I come up here to help out of the goodness of my heart, and this guy assumes all I care about is profit? That cuts deep, man."

Klein snickered. "I don't know…" he replied in a sing-song tone. "If you're so philanthropic, I suppose you wouldn't mind if we took you off the drop list, would you?"

A look of panic (half real, half faked) spread across Agil's face. "Now, now – let's not be too hasty!" he protested. "I said it's not _all_ I care about, but that doesn't mean I _don't_ care about it…"

The laughter his response incited was infectious, and it lifted the spirits of everyone in the plaza. Asuna's necklace _thrummed_ in approval as Yui sensed what was going on around them, and her hand instinctively strayed to grasp it.

"Hey, what's that?" Klein asked curiously.

Kirito and Asuna weren't sure whether or not to tell him about Yui, since it would inevitably lead to questions they didn't have time for, and so Serena decided to answer for them. "It's a reminder of one of the adventures they went on together. They didn't tell us more than that."

 _Technically, we didn't even tell you that much._ Kirito thought, impressed with how she had handled the situation. _But now they won't ask questions, and you didn't even have to make anything up!_

Almost as if she had heard his thoughts – which, thanks to her comment about Heathcliff's personality the day before, did not seem so unlikely anymore – she turned and winked in his direction. "As a girl myself, I can tell you she really appreciates it."

"All right, that's it." Klein whispered to Silica. "This time we're actually going to have a party so we can execute the Plan. Even if it means not everybody can make it, I can't stand seeing those two dance around the issue like that any longer!"

As Silica nodded in confirmation, Heathcliff and his squad of elite soldiers entered the Plaza. Even with half as many people, they still seemed much more imposing than Corvatz's twelve-man group had – in terms of both attitude and equipment.

"Thank you all for coming." he announced, coming to a stop in front of the massive archway that bordered the plaza. "You all knew what was at stake, and yet you came anyway. With that determination and by our powers combined, we will defeat this Boss and clear the game!"

He turned and opened a Corridor Crystal leading to the Boss Room's antechamber, feeling a brief surge of satisfaction when he heard one of the older players comment "I understood that reference" to his friend.

* * *

The air inside the chamber seemed heavier than outside, and Kirito involuntarily shivered slightly as he emerged. "Well, if we're making movie references right now, I have a bad feeling about this."

Ash nodded. "I know what you mean." All around them, players were making last-minute adjustments to their equipment before they finally entered the room.

When they all finished, Heathcliff stood in front of the door. "Okay, our preliminary strategy is as follows: The Knights will distract the Boss and block its attacks, while the rest of you watch its attack patterns and figure out how to safely counterattack. Are we ready?"

The assembled players nodded silently, none willing to risk the lives of everyone there by sowing dissension.

"Then let's go!" Heathcliff pushed open the doors, and the raid group flooded into the Boss Room.

The doors slammed shut behind them and torches flared to life, revealing an elevated platform (on which they were standing) underneath a huge dome-shaped ceiling. The room itself was so large that even with the torches, the ceiling was still wreathed in shadow – but there was no sign of the Boss anywhere.

Ash and Serena immediately stretched out with their enhanced senses, looking for the greenish Aura of AIs and their rigidly structured mental pseudo-signatures respectively. Their first independent scans revealed nothing, but the ceiling was just out of range, so they concentrated their efforts in the same direction in order to gain a resonance boost. When they did so, it revealed a massive creature hidden in the shadows, coiled and ready to strike.

"It's right above us – scatter!" Ash yelled, pushing Aura through his voice box to try and amplify his shout.

The group scattered just as the skeletal centipede dove for its center, but not all of them were fast enough to escape. The blue flames within its massive skull's eye sockets flared brightly as it swept one of its two massive scythes through the air, catching three of the retreating soldiers in the back and flinging them high in the air.

"Frogadier, cushion them with your Frubbles!" Ash ordered quickly, and the ninja frog raced over to comply. Before they landed, though, their HP fell to zero – shocking everyone there.

"A one-hit KO?" Kirito breathed out, panicked. "Not even the Fatal Scythe did that much damage!" He ran over to Ash, lowering his voice. "Do you think you can do that thing again, the one you did down in the dungeon on Floor 1?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I can't. It's got two, which means it could hit me with one while I was taking out the other, and both of them have a double-layered structure with a different weak point for each layer. And then there's still the tail to worry about, too."

Kirito glanced at the Boss and ran off, communicating silently with Asuna. "You handle the tail, and we'll handle the scythes!" he called back as he dashed off to block the scythe that was not currently grounded on Heathcliff's shield. "Then everyone else should be free to attack!"

Kirito and Asuna's triple-bladed block was just enough to halt the scythe's descent – but now that they knew it worked, their next blows were fueled by confidence, allowing them to actually knock it backwards and stagger the Boss slightly.

Meanwhile, Ash and Serena decided to take advantage of the fact that the Boss's tail now auto-targeted Familiars. Pina strafed it with Bubble Beam from a distance, lowering its Speed enough that Pikachu, Frogadier, and Fletchinder could swarm it and confuse its targeting systems. More often than not it lashed out at thin air, and the times that it didn't its lowered Speed enabled them to dodge in time.

While this was going on, Braixen was bathing the base of the Skull Reaper's tail with a wash of flame, attempting to make it brittle. Her hope was that if they could get it to break off its own tail, it would no longer be attached to the central AI and the danger would be much less.

Even so, the fight took nearly an hour, and everyone was exhausted by the time it was over. Kirito collapsed next to Asuna, their heightened sensitivity to each other's thoughts returning to normal levels now that they were no longer engaged in combat. Klein sat down with a _thud_ several feet away, breathing heavily.

"We didn't lose anyone else after those first three, did we?" the samurai asked in between breaths.

Agil, who was lying spread-eagle on his other side, answered him. "A kid I knew named James got thrown off the edge of the platform, but thanks to those two and Heathcliff blocking the scythes I didn't see anybody else die." He then chuckled wryly. "It seems as if Kayaba actually helped us this time – if he hadn't made the Cardinal System self-learning, we would've had to watch out for the tail, too."

"Maybe so, but ten scouts plus four raid members is still way too many casualties for the number of Clearers we have left." Kirito said, eyes roving to and fro as he drank in the aftermath of the fight. Only one person still seemed to be standing upright: the 'Invincible Paladin' Heathcliff himself. That wasn't to say he was unscathed; blocking that scythe by himself for as long as he did, even with the defensive boost of Divine Blade had greatly drained his HP – and likely exhausted him physically, even if he refused to show it for the sake of morale.

Oddly enough, though, his HP was still in the green. Only a few ticks above halfway, yes, but still higher than yellow. Even though the 'his HP has never gone below half' was part of Heathcliff's legend, defending like he did should have at least put his health in the low yellow like it did for him and Asuna team-blocking. Come to think of it, back when they had dueled Heathcliff had almost seemed scared when his HP had come near the yellow, so why wasn't he now? It wasn't as if he had something to hide…

 _Or did he?_ Kirito thought suddenly, recalling Ash and Serena's reluctance to overtly use their own abilities. The only reasons he and Asuna were still alive right then were the two's (literally otherworldly) abilities and Yui's status as an Immortal Object…

Silica's quip from the 'murder' investigation about Heathcliff being the mastermind behind everything rose unbidden to his mind, and the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. "You're right." he said in a low voice, pulling himself to his feet. "Kayaba did help us, and in more ways than just that."

"What do you mean?" Klein asked, confused.

Kirito chuckled dryly. "Just wait and see." He activated the single-blade dash skill Rage Spike and covered the distance between himself and Heathcliff in an instant, catching the paladin off guard. Heathcliff's reaction time was still almost impossibly fast, though, and his shield came up to catch the strike before it could hit. _This is just like the duel all over again!_ Kirito realized, mind frantically searching for a solution.

He wasn't completely sure how he pulled it off afterwards, but he somehow managed to cancel Elucidator's attack and activate a Linear with Dark Repulser just before the Interrupted Attack Delay kicked in. Lisbeth's sword streaked in past the edge of the shield, aiming directly for Heathcliff's chest – only to encounter a purple Immortal Object hexagon just before it hit.

"An Immortal Object?" Asuna breathed incredulously as she ran up and came to a stop beside him. She could see where Kirito was going with this, but the loyal Knight in her didn't want to believe it. "Commander Heathcliff, do you have an explanation for this?"

"I have an explanation." Kirito said darkly, equipping his Broadcast Crystal and scattering the receivers so all the players could hear. "The reason his HP never goes below 50%, the legend of the 'Invincible Paladin and his impenetrable shield' – it's because he's protected by the Cardinal System itself. But aside from NPCs, there's only one kind of player who is ever given that status on a permanent basis: the system admin."

His eyes flashed. "But the Cardinal System was designed to work without outside interference, which means there shouldn't be any Admins logged in. That only left one possibility open: the creator of the game wanted to keep an eye on his subjects, but didn't want the boredom of watching an RPG from the outside for years on end. In order to do so, he created a character for himself, immersing himself in his role whenever he thought himself at risk of discovery so that he wouldn't give himself away. Isn't that right, Akihiko Kayaba?"

A gasp rang through the crowd at his accusation, and their shock only increased when Heathcliff didn't deny it. Instead, he just tilted his head in acknowledgement. "For curiosity's sake, may I ask how you figured it out?"

"Thinking back, the HP thing was always sort of suspicious – but the biggest clue came during our duel. When I came close to accidentally revealing your secret, you panicked and reacted faster than the system should have allowed you to. And not the 'sixth-sense' kind of reaction where you anticipate the motion, either; you broke the rules of the game entirely to block my strike in time."

Heathcliff's lips curved into a bitter smile. "Activating the System Over-Assist was a mistake on my part." he admitted. "I had planned to remain hidden until Floor 95, at which point I would reveal myself as the final Boss, but I never expected that choice would lead to being discovered this early. And yes, I am Akihiko Kayaba."

A wave of astonished murmurs began making its way around the room at his declaration, but he paid it no mind. "You know, I've suspected for a while that I would be facing you at the end of the game, Kirito. I programmed Dual Blades to go to the player with the fastest reaction time, and you were one of the three players who qualified. The other two, who are coincidentally also present, had faster reaction times – almost in the negative numbers, which makes me think your statement about a 'sixth sense' came from watching them fight – but they had abnormal system flags that prevented them from being given the Skill. I intended the wielder of Dual Blades to be the hero of this story, the one who rises up to challenge the Immortal King, but the power you showed exceeded my expectations." Kayaba chuckled wryly. "I guess that's the kind of unpredictability in an RPG that always fascinated me."

As he spoke, he manipulated his menu – and then suddenly, all the players but Kirito, Kayaba, and Serena fell to the ground, Paralyzed. "So what next?" Kirito demanded. "Are you gonna kill us all now that we know your secret?"

Kayaba shook his head. "No, that would be counterproductive. I will simply depart for the Ruby Palace atop Aincrad twenty floors ahead of schedule, trusting in the strength of the players before me to bring them to my door."

His hand froze in place before he could do anything else, and Serena walked up from behind Kirito, her gesture making it clear that she was the one restraining him. "They trusted you, and you repay that trust by abandoning them right after the worst defeat they've suffered in months? Even if it was just an act, I can tell that living as Heathcliff for so long should have left you with more honor than that!"

Kayaba's mouth quirked in amusement again. "Ah yes, the Beast Tamer whose fighting resembles a dance. You and your friend Satoshi over there were the other two candidates for Dual Blades – and it appears there is more to you than meets the eye, since you were able to avoid the 100% success rate of my GM paralysis and paralyze me in turn without the help of the System. Fine, here is my proposition: Since Kirito was able to figure out my identity, I will disable my immortality and duel him on even footing. You will not interfere, and neither will your Familiars. If Kirito can defeat me, you will immediately clear the game and be able to log out. Do you agree to these terms?"

Pikachu, who was also unaffected due to his Electric-typing, hopped up onto her shoulder. _"And so begins Stage 5…"_

"Don't do it, Kirito!" Asuna pleaded from where she was lying on the floor. "We'll figure something out, so don't risk your life like this!"

Kirito looked back and forth between Kayaba and the players strewn about the room. "Sorry, Asuna, but this is our best chance of survival. You said it yourself a while back; we're already on a time limit, so any advantage like this is worth the risk."

Serena nodded. "I accept your terms."

"So do I." Kirito drew his swords again and took up a guard position as Serena released Kayaba's hand and he disabled his Immortal status, setting their HP levels roughly equal. "Asuna – if I don't survive this, live on for Yui's sake, won't you?"

As Asuna berated her fiancé for being an idiot, Kayaba decided to take pity on them. "If you lose, would you like me to temporarily confine her to Salemburg so she cannot kill herself?" he offered.

Kirito shook his head. "No, that would only increase her frustration with both of us. I trust her to be able to move on if necessary, to let her time with me shape her but not define her."

His reference to their conversation about the Moonlit Black Cats and declaration of confidence in her were enough to help Asuna pull herself together, and she swallowed tearfully. "I can't promise you that, but I can promise that I _will_ do my best."

Kirito's answer was soft, almost inaudible. "That's all I can ask for." His head snapped up and he charged at Kayaba, who deflected his first strike with the giant cross shield he carried. As if that was a signal, his swords erupted with a series of blows that Kayaba was hard-pressed to counter.

The paladin still managed, though, moving his shield almost as if he knew where the strikes were going to be. As in their previous duel, the strikes accelerated to the point where the System Assist would have actually slowed them down – but this time, Kirito's swings didn't seem like they fit the normal Skill patterns at all anymore.

"Why is he not using his Sword Skills?..." Asuna muttered under her breath. "He's practiced those so much that they should be ingrained in his muscle memory, and that would let him focus on strategy…"

 _"It's because Heathcliff designed Daddy's skill."_ Yui told her in a whisper, having equipped her Cloak and emerged from the necklace. _"He knows the attack patterns, and so he knows exactly how to move to block them. That means Daddy can't use Sword Skills against him, or else the fight will be over immediately."_

"Is there nothing we can do?" Asuna replied, her worry gaining strength again.

 _"I have an idea, but it's a long shot."_ Yui answered. _"Since this counts as a Final Boss battle, the Cardinal System has temporarily suspended the death order for players involved in the fight until the last of those players has died or left the area. Now, based on Daddy's mental state at the moment, if he thinks you're dead he will either give up completely or try and avenge you. If the first happens, you'll both be dead, but if the second happens you'll both be alive."_

"Looks like you'll have to decide quickly." Serena added quietly, having moved over to listen to their conversation. "Kayaba just tricked Kirito into activating one of his Sword Skills."

Asuna's eyes flashed. "If it has a chance of saving Kirito, I'll do it. We still need to do something about the Paralysis, though."

"I think I may have something I can do about that." Serena said. "And if it works, I wouldn't be the one interfering, which means I'd still be keeping my word." She concentrated as hard as she could, focusing on the energy keeping Asuna constrained. _I wish Asuna wasn't paralyzed anymore!_ she shouted mentally, throwing all the mental energy she could muster behind her Healing Wish. As she lost consciousness, she felt the paralyzing energy around Asuna fade away – just as Dark Repulser shattered on Heathcliff's shield.

"Game over, Kirito!" the paladin announced, swinging his own longsword down towards the frozen beta tester. Both of them were (quite understandably) surprised when Asuna jumped in front of Kirito and took Kayaba's attack herself, the force of the hit quickly depleting her remaining HP.

"No – Asuna, you can't…" Kirito stammered as she vanished in a shower of polygons. His free hand opened and closed several times, as if he were trying to grasp fragments of her soul to try and keep her from slipping away.

"Greater love hath no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends." Kayaba quoted reverently, respect for Asuna's resolve showing on his face. "To overcome Paralysis like that is nothing short of miraculous." His gaze returned to Kirito, who was staring down at his clenched fist with his eyes shadowed. "Will you let your beloved's sacrifice be in vain?"

Kirito's response was to stand slowly, eyes still downcast, and swing Elucidator half-heartedly at Kayaba. The paladin easily blocked the attack with his shield, along with all the follow-up strikes. After a few seconds, he tired of Kirito's lackluster offense and knocked Elucidator wide with his shield, opening up Kirito to a counterstrike.

That was when Kirito burst into action, his clenched fist swinging up and hurling its contents toward Kayaba's face. Kayaba automatically tracked the unknown projectile with his eyes, briefly confused when he saw that it was a necklace with a teardrop-shaped crystal. While he was watching Yui's storage crystal, however, Yui herself had thrown Asuna's rapier into Kirito's waiting hand – and Kirito immediately thrust it into Kayaba's unguarded chest.

Kayaba reacted instinctively, impaling Kirito in turn, and the next few seconds stretched out interminably as their HP bars raced each other to zero.

As the last of his HP disappeared, Kayaba smiled, glad that the story of his castle in the sky had come to a satisfying conclusion. "Congratulations, Kirito. I'll see you on the other side."

 _We did it, Asuna._ Kirito thought, his health bar vanishing almost an instant later. _I'm sorry I couldn't live on for you._

His avatar shattered, and a System Announcement took place. [November 7, 2:32 PM – the game has been cleared. Repeat, the game has been cleared.] One by one, player avatars began vanishing in a wash of white light as the Cardinal System began to log them out.

* * *

Omake: Oversized Pina is OP

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash and Serena decided to take advantage of the fact that the Boss's tail now auto-targeted Familiars. Pina strafed it with Bubble Beam from a distance, lowering its Speed enough that Pikachu, Frogadier, and Fletchinder could swarm it and confuse its targeting systems. More often than not it lashed out at thin air, and the times that it didn't its lowered Speed enabled them to dodge in time.

At one point, though, Pina strayed too close and was dashed to the ground by its tail. The same blue glow that had heralded her death months before overtook her once again – but this time, it signified a different change in status. Her form became at least an order of magnitude larger, until her size was comparable to Xyrphan the White Wyrm on Floor 55. A miasma of untapped draconic energy writhed beneath her skin, and she ascended to the peak of the roof with a series of powerful wingbeats.

 ** _"_ TOOR DOVAHGOLZ KEST! _"_** she Shouted, a Draco Meteor taking shape in her maw and heading straight for the Reaper's massive skull. It fragmented right before impact, peppering the skeletal centipede with a series of explosions.

Not to be outdone, Frogadier promptly evolved to Ash-Greninja form again and bombarded it with giant water shurikens, which blew it the rest of the way onto its back. Greninja quickly ran along its spine, severing the legs so that it couldn't curl them in to protect itself and leaving its underbelly exposed to a Dragon Rush from Pina.

Unfortunately, this meant that the Skull Reaper was defeated without Heathcliff's HP going below 75% – which prevented Kirito from making the connection that Heathcliff was actually Kayaba. But since I've never played Infinity Moment or Hollow Fragment, I'm just gonna say that somehow Ash and Serena figured it out a Floor or two later, managed to convince Heathcliff to duel them, and then used a Destiny Bond from Serena to bypass his HP protection and drop it to zero (since having zero HP wouldn't actually kill her).

Since that duel had been publicized as another fundraising opportunity for the Knights, the game's entire Clearing population was now privy to the knowledge that Heathcliff had actually been Akihiko Kayaba, and Kirito facepalmed at how obvious it had been in retrospect.

"Why didn't I figure that out Floors ago?..." he griped as he opened his eyes to see hospital roofing. "Oh – hey, Sis."

Suguha, who had been half-asleep next to her brother/cousin's bed, screamed and ran out of the room, now wide awake.

Kirito was puzzled by her behavior, forgetting that his vocal cords should have been almost unusable after two-plus years of complete disuse. "Was it something I said?"


	22. Chapter 21

**.**

 **A Parting of Partners**

(Ep 14 Part 2)

* * *

 **A/N: Well, it's been a journey getting here, but I'm finally posting the last chapter of "Just Another Tuesday." As mentioned before, I don't know how soon I'll be able to post the sequel such that I can update consistently until it's end - but when I do, I'll post an alert 'chapter' here. Enjoy the finale!**

As the other players began disappearing in pillars of white light, Ash quickly recalled his and Serena's Pokémon to avoid potential complications with the logout system. Silica embraced Pina one last time before she recalled her, promising to find some way to reconnect with her.

"Dang it!" Klein yelled, pounding his fist on the ground. "Why'd they have to go and do that? We can't have a 'Game Cleared' party without those two!" His gaze fell on Ash and the unconscious Serena, and he grasped at the only think he could think of to keep him from breaking down. "And without that party, Silica and I can't execute our master plan to get those two together!"

Silica shook her head sadly. "We can't do it anyways. The only reason I get to keep Pina after we leave is because they're from another dimension or something like that."

Klein groaned. "And it seems so obvious in hindsight. Of course, their chemistry has been obvious from the beginning, but they both missed it somehow. I guess it's like people say: 'Sometimes what's hardest to see is what's right in front of your eyes'."

Ash vaguely heard their conversation, but he was too focused on reviving Serena to care. He slowly transferred Aura into her, boosting her mental energy back to normal levels, and she groaned lightly as she reawakened. "Did Yui's plan work?" she whispered, relaxing in her boyfriend's arms.

Ash nodded. "I didn't feel their Aura Signatures vanish – it felt more like they were being transported elsewhere."

She sat up a little straighter, giving him a brief peck on the cheek. "I'm so glad they're safe."

He returned the favor, albeit on the crown of her head instead of her cheek, and hugged her a bit tighter. "And it was all thanks to you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa – how long has this been a thing?" Klein interrupted, he and Silica gaping at them like fish. "Have you guys just been messing with us this whole time?"

The amusement Serena was projecting across their link was contagious, and Ash felt a smile slip onto his lips. "No, just since we heard you planning to lock us in a closet. We had considered telling you, but after we heard that we figured pranking you back would be more fun."

A wash of anger briefly flashed across Klein's face, but it was soon replaced with amusement as well. "Well played, kid. You two take care of each other out there, all right?"

Serena nodded. "Don't worry, we will. I hope you all stay safe too."

"Good luck, and thanks for saving Pina for me!" Silica called as a white light enveloped them, consuming their surroundings before finally whiting out their vision.

* * *

As they felt their consciousness being transported, orbiting about one another, they felt a sudden jerk and the world re-solidified around them. Several feet away, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui were standing on an invisible platform in the clouds. Next to them, a man in a long white coat was watching Aincrad crumble to pieces far below.

"And so, the final guests arrive." the man announced, voice betraying his identity as Akihiko Kayaba. "I apologize for pulling you here on such short notice, but the Cardinal System still needs time to isolate the foreign IP address you two used to log in – especially since it's busy deleting everything remaining in the world of Aincrad. By the way, I commend you for the strategy of preserving YUI and the little dragon by saving their data locally. I would hate to see such lifelike AI destroyed forever."

"Speaking of 'destroyed forever,' you said that the remaining players have just been logged out." Kirito cut in. "But what about the four thousand who died? Is there any way to bring them back?"

Kayaba shook his head. "That is not how the NerveGear was designed. Once a player's brain has been destroyed, the only way they could possibly survive would be to completely transplant their soul into the computer. Not only would that require more memory storage space than Aincrad's servers had available, but I did not design the consumer hardware with that capacity. Plus, it would have detracted from the sense of realism. No, when you die – whether in this world or in the other – you are dead forever. The only exception I made to that rule was the one that allowed you to survive, out of respect for those who were brave enough to stand on the final battleground."

"But why?" Kirito asked. "Why would you even do something like this?"

The corners of Kayaba's mouth twitched upwards. "You know, I've been asking myself that same question more and more recently. It's been so long that I've all but forgotten, though it feels like the answer is only just out of reach…"

Serena took a peek and noticed a small spurt of mental energy caught in the intersection of Kayaba and Heathcliff's personalities, trying desperately to make its way to the forefront. She gently reached out and freed it, causing Kayaba to jolt in recollection.

"Oh yes, now I remember. Ever since I was a boy, I dreamed of a castle floating in the sky – a place where the laws and restrictions of reality did not define the limit of what a person could do. As I grew older, the dream grew more and more defined, and the idea of designing a game to make my dream into reality became more and more appealing." His gaze grew softer as he reminisced. "When I was recruited to help create the new FullDive virtual reality system, everything suddenly fell into place. With the ability to immerse oneself completely in the virtual world, I could now _make_ my dream into reality – I could leave the world I lived in for one I knew, one of my own creation. So I threw everything I could into fulfilling that potential, to the point where it was an obsession. And for a time, this new world _became_ a reality, where I was then able to see my expectations surpassed in astounding ways."

Kayaba turned to Ash and Serena with a wistful smile on his face. "And now that your presence proves the existence of other worlds, other dimensions, I wonder if I was searching along the wrong path the whole time. Perhaps in one of those worlds, Aincrad still stands as I envisioned it; not just a constructed reality, but a natural one."

Kirito chuckled. "After being around the two of them for so long, I wouldn't be surprised."

"Oh, and before I forget: Congratulations on clearing the game, Kirito; and you as well, Asuna." Kayaba opened a notification window that he had just received, and his eyes flicked back and forth as he read it. "Well, the Cardinal System has given me a place to begin my new search – so I think it's about time that I leave. Good luck to all of you." The clouds that had been slowly accumulating around him drifted slightly, obscuring him from their vision, and when they moved again he was gone.

At the same instant, the Ruby Palace atop the castle fractured and disappeared, leaving only the small group on the platform.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye?" Ash said, sad to be leaving the friends he had made during his time in Aincrad.

Yui shook her head. "Not unless you want it to be, Uncle Satoshi. When Ms. Cardinal managed to isolate your logout IP, I requested a copy of the data – so if you have a telephone or tablet of some kind, I can set up a communications channel so that we don't have to lose touch with each other."

Serena _hmm_ ed in thought. "I think my Guidebook has an emergency phone function in case we got hopelessly lost, but it only connects to the nearest Pokémon Ranger base so they can send out a rescue squad."

"I'm guessing that means each one has an ID chip installed, or else they wouldn't know where to go." Kirito replied. "That means if we can find it in whatever database they have, we can set up a new connection from our end. Is it registered under your name?"

"I think so." Serena answered. "Mom got it for me, but I think she registered it to me. Try looking for Serena Paschall, and if that doesn't show up look for my mother Grace's name."

Kirito nodded. "Got it. And while we're at it, let's all exchange real names so that Asuna and I can find each other again once we get out. My name is Kazuto Kirigaya, though it might take me a while to get used to being called Kazuto again."

"My name's Ash Ketchum." Ash offered in response.

"And mine's Asuna Yuuki."

Kirito looked at the three of them, dumbfounded. "Am I really the only one of us four who _didn't_ go by their real name?"

Asuna laughed at the look on his face. "You're the only real gamer out of us four, dummy – you should've expected that. And we already had this conversation months ago, remember?"

Kirito had the grace to look affronted. "Woman, you wound me! And here was I, prepared to profess my undying love to thee before fate separates us once more. I suppose our daughter shall have to suffice instead…" He gathered Yui into his arms, only making a token protest when Asuna added herself to the embrace.

Ash and Serena watched from a distance as Kirito and Asuna's little family spent one last moment together. Serena felt a wistful hope that someday she would have something like that, but Ash's hand in hers reminded her that each day was its own adventure, and that she would accomplish much more living day by day with him at her side than she would just by wishing. And who knows – maybe someday that dream would itself become a reality.

Kirito and Asuna's final words to each other lit a spark of boldness in her, and she squeezed Ash's hand. "I love you, Ash." she told him, sincerity permeating every word.

He smiled back, thankful that he now knew how to encapsulate their commitment to each other without wasted words. "I love you too, Serena."

The world faded back into whiteness, and the cluster of souls that had been gathered split apart as the Cardinal System returned each one to its host.

* * *

"Welcome back to the real world." Clembot greeted them as they woke up. "Your mothers downstairs will be pleased to hear that you have returned. Would you like to tell them yourselves, or shall I?"

"I think we can handle it." Ash said, taking off his helmet and turning to Serena. "You ready to get back to real life?"

Blue eyes met brown as his girlfriend removed her own helmet. "Do you even have to ask?" she replied, twitching their bond slightly.

 _I see it wasn't just in-game, then_. Ash answered silently. _Say, this gives me an idea…_

He explained it to her, and she wholeheartedly agreed. Cloaked in an SEP field, the two of them made their way downstairs to where Clemont was on his coffee break with Delia and Grace.

Delia was currently busy telling stories about Ash's childhood years. "…And if you think that's funny, just wait until you hear what he did next!" she said amongst a small storm of laughter.

"Really, Mom? The hammock story?" Ash protested as they sat down at the table. "You already embarrass me enough with the whole 'clean underwear' thing – so why bring this up too, and behind my back of all things?"

"I don't know, Ash…" Serena replied, having caught a glimpse of the memory in Ash's mind as his mother was speaking. "Having two Teddiursa evolve into Ursaring while licking honey off your face inside a hammock is the kind of moment you can never live down."

Delia looked at her oddly. "How do you know about that? He never talks about that to _anyone_ , and it happened after you moved away."

Clemont pushed himself back to his feet. "Well, as interesting as this conversation has been, I probably ought to get back to monitoring Ash and Serena now."

"We're glad you're so concerned about us." Ash said as Clemont put his mug in the sink. "Be sure to tell us when we wake up, okay?"

Clemont nodded. "Sure thing, Ash." He started walking out of the room, only to snap back around, eyes wide in shock. "Wait a minute – Ash? Serena? When did you two get here?"

"About two weeks ago. We came in on the bus with Bonnie, remember?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not what I…" His sentence trailed off when he noticed the teasing grins on their faces. "Not funny, guys."

Suddenly, a voice called out from downstairs. "Hey Clemont, we're back!"

"Hold on, is that Korrina?" Serena asked. "What's she doing here again?"

"Right now, giving Bonnie skating lessons to help keep her occupied. This is actually the third or fourth time she's been here since you guys got trapped, though."

"The third or fourth time, huh?" Serena replied, unconsciously adopting Bonnie's Look. "I wonder why that might be…"

"I know, right?" Clemont said, completely missing Serena's tone as the coffee buzz finally kicked in. "Up until your mom got here, it seemed like she thought it was her job to make sure I got enough sleep or something."

"I keep telling him, but he won't listen!" Bonnie cut in as she walked through the door. When she noticed Ash and Serena were back, she darted around the table to give them hugs. "Ash, Serena, you're back!"

Korrina followed her in through the door, before freezing and staring at Ash. "Wow, Lucario was right – your Aura is strong enough for me to sense now! He was never able to train me to do more than sense strong signatures, though, so I don't know how much stronger…"

Ash snickered mentally as another idea came to him. "You wanna see?" He focused Aura into his hand, making a pale blue flame dance over his fingers, before he snapped and it dissipated. "Look, now your shoes are untied."

Sure enough, Serena had psychically untied Korrina's sneakers while everyone was distracted by Ash's flashy Aura manipulation, and Korrina stared incredulously. "That's impossible! Aura techniques use energy projection, and telekinesis doesn't fit in that category…"

Clemont placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, we're just as lost as you are. I'm still trying to figure out how they infiltrated our conversation without us noticing."

Ash furrowed his brow. "Huh, that's interesting. You two's Auras appear to have naturally resonant frequencies, just like Serena's and mine."

A recent conversation with Bonnie flashed at the front of Korrina's mind, and her voice took on a slightly nervous giggle. "Oh, they… they do, do they?"

Serena swatted Ash on the shoulder. "Ash, don't go putting ideas in Bonnie's head." Everyone else there almost swore they could hear an unspoken _that's my job_ , but they were too surprised at how forward she was acting around Ash to take much note.

Bonnie, of course, immediately drew her own conclusions. "Does that mean you finally told him?" she asked, a predatory glint in her eye.

Confusion flitted over Serena's face. _Was there something going on outside the game that I was supposed to tell Ash?_ "Told him what?" she asked – but instead of answering, Bonnie just grinned triumphantly.

"I knew it!" she yelled, throwing her fist up in the air. "You didn't try and shush me, which means he already knows about your crush on him, which means you told him!"

Ash cut in, unable to resist the chance to mess with an adamant shipper one more time. "What do you mean? Serena doesn't have a crush on me. I think she might have once, but she told me she doesn't any more…"

Bonnie was distraught. "Does that mean you friend-zoned her until she gave up? You big meanie!" She turned away in a huff, only to catch sight of Delia and Grace trying to smother grins. "Wait a minute – if both your moms know something's up, then that means…"

The little girl marched over to Korrina, an adorable pout on her face. "Serena tried to trick me, so will you be my new big sister instead of her? You can always take care of my brother while you're at it!"

Meyer entered the kitchen for a snack, only to be passed by a Tamato-colored Clemont dragging Bonnie away from an equally red Korrina using his Aipom Arm. "Business as usual, I see?"

Delia nodded. "Yep. With kids like ours around, it's like every day is a brand new adventure. Bonnie did say she considered Serena her sister, though, so it's your turn to do the 'overprotective dad' bit for my son here."

"But Moooooom…" Ash protested, more for the sake of protesting than out of actual annoyance.

"What? It's not like he's a superhero or anything, is it?"

Everyone there erupted into laughter (though some a little more nervously than others), grateful for the opportunity they had to just be alive and have a good time with family and friends.


	23. Announcement: Sequel Up

A note to all those following this story: The prologue to the sequel is up over in the main SAO section. Feel free to check it out and leave feedback (please make sure any criticism is constructive and well-communicated, though).

Thank you to all the authors who supported me as I posted this story, whether registered and logged in or just guest users. I hope my writing is still up to par.

-MyNoseAgreesWithMe


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